


Re: Chronicles

by BG_Character_592



Series: Chronicles [8]
Category: Neon Genesis Evangelion
Genre: Gen, Giant Robots, MST3k-Style Riffing, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-18
Updated: 2019-07-18
Packaged: 2020-07-08 05:33:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 70,829
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19864312
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BG_Character_592/pseuds/BG_Character_592
Summary: While sojourning in Boston, in a small shop, Hiro and Zero Two found a suspicious doujin, starring their friends over in Japan.So what do they do? They take it back home and they read it, of course!





	1. ReC 01

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Advice and Trust](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/499855) by Strypgia. 
  * Inspired by [Advice and Trust](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/499864) by Panther2G. 
  * Inspired by [Re-Take](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/499873) by Studio Kimigabuchi. 



> This is the eighth instalment of Chronicles, a continuation of Strypgia's Advice and Trust, published here with his consent, originally posted on Sufficient Velocity. It is recommended one reads Advice and Trust first, as many of the characterisations and events differ from what is considered canon to Evangelion.
> 
> While this story is a continuation of Advice and Trust, it's not set in its exact universe. This story diverges from Advice and Trust starting from Chapter 11.12 (on Sufficient Velocity).
> 
> This is a direct sequel to Return of the Gainax
> 
> As usual for Chronicles, this story is rated Mature for sexual references, occasional violence and confronting scenes.
> 
> Many thanks to Jimmy Wolk and others for translation help.

* * *

## 1\. Be Human

Maya and Eliza had just arrived at their lab for the day, now noticeably (and thankfully) rather quiet now the show had wrapped up.

And it was in this quiet, Maya began her question. "So what _did_ happen yesterday between you and Rei? You seemed... troubled by what happened."

"I..." She paused, gathering herself.  "Rei used her ability to log into my system. So she could find out about Soma."

"As I suggested?"

A nod.  "As you suggested. And as expected; the communication started, my daemons caught and sandboxed it, and I piped Rei into it to investigate."

"Did you find out _who_ it was?"

"Sovereign."

Her eyes went wide, wanting to hug her. "Oh Gods, _Sovereign?_ No wonder you felt that way."

"It's alright, ma. It _was_ rather... concerning for me, to find him in such a state."

" _Him_?"

"Rei made that same remark." She noted.  "I suppose it's understandable, why I felt that way towards Sovereign. In a way... he is my own, is he not?"

"Well... not only is he from your _codebase_ , essentially making you siblings, _you_ pretty much _coded_ him. Making you his _mother_."

"I sense many Freudian complications with that."

"Welcome to NERV. But... I know Rei. She would not have been too perturbed by such a thing."

Eliza bowed her head.  "Indeed. _I_ was more concerned with the being being Sovereign. But... there was _another_."

"Another... what?"

"Soul." Her breathing quickened.  "And... I suggested Rei look into it."

Maya realised. "... _That's_ what did it."

"I pulled her out of it as quick as I could, but... damn it."

Maya went to comfort. "You couldn't have known, Eliza."

"I know... but I _still_ feel..."

"Bad?"

"Yeah. She's my _pilot_ , Ma. And I _hurt_ her like that!"

" _You_ didn't hurt her. This _other_ did. _You_ did what you could to _stop_ her from being hurt!"

"It was _my_ suggestion that caused her to do it in the first place!"

"Were there _any_ other things you could've done?"

She had to think.  "...That's the thing. The way Rei made it sound like, there _wasn't."_

"Then you did the right thing, with the knowledge and resources you had. And that's _all_ you really _can_ do, in a situation like this."

Her breathing had calmed somewhat, holding her Ma.  "I... I could sense this other soul as well. Rei bore the brunt of it but I could still _feel_ it. And... I don't know _who_ this could be, but..."

"...I would think it wouldn't be anyone _we_ knew."

"It was just... coming from what should've been _Sovereign_. If there was _nothing,_ like I first thought there was, then I would've felt _upset_ but... this... It's troubling me, Ma."

"You said as much, during Operation Sovereign." A sigh. "That's the thing with these sorts of feelings. They don't go away. They can fade, but they don't really _ever_ go away. And sometimes, you just get something that reopens those old wounds."

"But that's what being... human is about."

"I feel like I've missed out on a bit." Ritsuko mused, standing in the doorway.

"Mama!"

"Sempai!"

They both barrelled into her.

~~~

The various printouts and such were scattered all over the Commander of Massachusetts' desk. "Explain just _what_ this is, Makinami."

" _Proof_." Short and succinct, as befitted him. "That SEELE are _still_ active and around."

She looked over the documents. "Explain to me _how_ this is proof."

Pointing to a graph, of various numbers and charts. " _This_ is a radio spectrograph, measuring the _properties_ of what was found. The size and density of which indicates something that _should not_ be there."

"Could be an asteroid."

" _This_ is from the magnetometer. It indicates a _magnetic field_ in the survey area. Indicating not only is there _something_ , but something that _must_ generate such energy as to _generate_ such a field."

"Congratulations, you discovered Planet X."

" _This,_ is a _photograph_. God knows _how_ they did it, but my team over west managed to get the camera on that thing back up again. It _clearly_ shows a _sizeable_ white and purple object, which combined with the _previous_ measurements-"

" _Jesus_ , I get it!" She begrudgingly conceded, in the midst of the piling evidence. "SEELE are still active. _What do we do_?"

"Quite the piercing question. One with no answer." He too conceded, as he sat back down. "Other than what we did _before_."

"What, wait for them to come to _us_? Do you _know_ how that worked out for-"

"I know _full well_ how it worked out!" He lost it for a moment, slamming fist onto table, before coming back down with a long winded sigh.

Mabel decided to quell this situation by bringing out the bourbon.

"No thanks. I'm trying not to drink."

"Even though you look like you _need_ it."

"I promised my partner. After the shit that was Rogue-00, I promised her I wouldn't touch that stuff."

To which she nodded, pouring _herself_ one and putting it away. "I can respect that." She took a sip. "I heard from Tokyo-3 how... _difficult_ that whole event was for you."

" _She_ was one of the _many_ people taken by Rogue-00. I thought I would _never_ see her again after what happened."

"But... when Rogue-00 was defeated, and sent to Mars. It bought her back."

"...Yeah. I can take an educated guess as to _why_ , with my limited knowledge in MetBio. But... after that near miss."

"Changed you."

"In some ways. Apparently I'm still as vengeful against SEELE as I usually am." A small self deprecation.

"Ain't we all." She drank to that sentiment. "But my point still stands. Voyager 1 launched in '77. It took over _40 years_ for this machine to get to the _right_ spot in order to even _sense_ them. What are _we_ to do, other than wait?"

"You have Evangelion. And a new system to boot. One that seems easier to deploy and run, then the _previous_ system. Even the _new_ system Tokyo-3 was working on."

She huffed. "So that's it? We lick our wounds, build up our Evangelion, so hopefully we could face whatever the _fuck_ they decide to throw at us."

"...Well, as you said, what else can we do?"

There was silence for but a few moments.

"Units 05 and 06 are being built as we speak. Unit-05, if we can up culture imports from Tokyo-3, will be ready for extended testing within the month. We won't have an ETA for Unit-06 until 05 is in post-construction, however."

Leaning back in her chair, tumbler still in hand, she gave an irritated sigh. "Thing is, we will _always_ be gimped to a certain extent, at least compared to Japan and even _Germany_. Our main Evangelion production facilities, even _culture growth facilities_ , were in _Nevada_ ; and Congress only lifted that moratorium on us a short while ago. We're _still_ trying to find our feet when it comes to this." She rued. "Then again, not like _Japan_ is in any better situation."

"Indeed. From what I have seen, they have _one_ operational Evangelion, from their original _four_."

Mabel had an epiphany. "Hang on a minute, we've _seen_ Ikari and Soyru _here_ , haven't we?"

A short nod.

"If _they're_ out here, that implies the _core_ is no longer active. But what if the _bodies_ are still there? What if we could _retrofit_ the NACSS system _onto their Evangelion_?!"

"I think that was the entire _point_ at pursuing this system." He flatly stated, metaphorically popping the balloon.

Like said metaphorical balloon, she deflated. "Oh. Damn it, I though I was being smart."

"It _is_ a good idea, don't put yourself down like that. But yes, once the NACSS system is done, then they could implement in their own Evangelion shells. Maybe even the one remaining Old-Type Evangelion."

"If they could get whoever the poor sap is in there _out_."

"Well, they did it for Ikari and Soryu." He gave a sigh. "Shame my daughter's own Unit couldn't last that long."

Mabel could feel that. "Did talking with the old guard help you come to terms with that?"

He snorted. "Thing is, this happened _after_ Yui's time."

"... _Really_? Jesus Christ, how did _she_ feel about it?"

"She's had time to come to terms with it. And that's all I'll say on the matter, as I feel she wanted that to stay between _us_."

He could tell Mabel was disappointed in this. "Fair enough. So... we perfect the NACSS system, then we give such designs to Tokyo-3 so they can get their own Evangelion up and running."

"That's what I would _assume_. _More_ Evangelion is never a bad thing, after all."

"The UN sure don't think that."

~~~

The doujinshi was thunked down on the table, very much akin to the _previous_ book based work they read.

Shinji groaned. "Here we go again."

"It's even _worse_ Shinji. It's a fucking _doujin!_ " Exclamation, as she pointed towards it quite emphatically with her hands. "I would genuinely be surprised if this _didn't_ have porn of us in it."

Misato laughed nervously. "Funny thing about that. _Apparently_ -"

The door opened just as she was about to make Asuka angry, Rei and Kaworu making their entrance. "This is the new work?"

Misato gave a nod. "Apparently _Zero Two_ found the _first_ iteration of this."

"There are _other_ versions?" Spoke Kaworu, with curiosity.

"Yeah. _This_ version of the material does _not_ have pornography in it."

Crickets.

Asuka had an unamused look on her face. "That implies what Zero Two _did_ find _was porno_."

"Yeah." Flat. "Lemme tell you, your mother was _not_ happy at finding _that_ out."

"Not like she could even take it out on anyone, if it was found under the traditional method."

" _Ehhh_ , Zero Two found it in a _shop_."

"They were _selling this_?!" Her shout could be heard from the Geofront. "Oh I dread to think what my mama did to that _bastard_ shopkeeper."

"Many things." Zero Two mused, having let her and Hiro in.

"Ah, you've decided to join us in investigating this material?"

"Well, I _do_ have a curiosity in it."

"Considering you was the one who _found_ it." Asuka muttered.

"Thanks for your vote of confidence." Deadpan back.

"At the very least, _we_ found it. Instead of... anyone else." Hiro spoke. "Not that it's much consolation."

"The porn _was_ taken out of circulation, right?"

"Literally burnt in a fireplace, Katsuragi."

"Good! The problem solved itself!"

The silence indicated the problem _wasn't_ solved. "There is still _this_ work to go through."

"...Oh yeah. Well, you lot have fun with that!" She blabbered, before going for the door.

"Are you not staying around, Misato?"

"Well, I could either stick around and probably get traumatised and cry myself to sleep tonight. _Or_ , I could instead go out for a night on the town with my _fiancée_." As she very obviously waved her bejewelled hand around.

"And you say _we're_ bad." Kaworu very obviously prodded.

"Yeah yeah, cut me some slack. I've been drowning in paperwork for the past few days, and Kaji's got his _own_ business with the UN and this 'Soma' he's been looking into."

"Soma?" Four people said at once.

"Rei can tell you." As she immediately got going. "Have fun now!"

And the door closed behind her.

"Yeah, I'm sure we will." Asuka muttered.

Before all six continued to stare dumbly at the doujin.

"So. How are we gonna _read_ all this together? At least with the shows you could _all_ watch together, but how can you do that with a _doujin_?"

"That is a _very_ good point, Zero Two." Barely answered Kaworu.

Before they all began looking dumbly at it again.

"Surely you two have _something_ you can do to solve this?" Hiro directed at Rei and Kaworu.

"We are _Nephilim_." Stated Rei. "We are not _projectors._ "

" _Maybe_ we could, but it is a power we have not developed yet."

"Well, if there's anything _Gurren Lagann_ has taught us, it's to kick reason to the curb and to just _spontaneously develop_ powers like that." She even pointed a finger to the heavens.

"Yes, I am sure if that _was_ possible in our world, we would have done so already." Rei mused, her dry wit palpable.

"I would _try_ , but I don't have an inspirational speech prepared." Kaworu too lampshaded.

"What _is_ Gurren Lagann?" Hiro queried, perplexed.

"An _actually pretty good_ show we watched while you were off elsewhere." Asuka immediately clarified. "Think Anti-Evangelion."

Shinji thought to add on. "Kinda reminded us of _your_ show, actually."

That got their attention. "Might have to check that out, once we're done with this."

"We still do not _know_ how to read this work." Rei pointed out. "I think we should just keep the doujin in the middle of the table so we can all see what is going on."

Shrugs all across the board. "Works for me."

* * *

#  **2\. Re-Take: Volume 01**

Note: Page numbers refer to the FIRST HALF of VOLUME 01 of the NON-H version, roughly corresponding to VOLUME 01 of the H version. 

**Character Key:**

Shinji (S) Asuka (A)

Rei (R) Kaworu (K)

Hiro (H) Zero Two (Z)

_5.26_ (Page 3)

Rei perked an eyebrow. "This was the _month_ of the SEELE incursion."

A: "So they couldn't even get the _date_ right?"

K: "Consider this is most likely an alternate universe. Of _course_ the dates would be wrong."

Z: "At least you guys _have_ dates."

**(4)**

Asuka gave a long sigh as she glanced over the image. "Great, we're starting _here_?"

H: "This was the _incursion_ , right?”

S: "Oh yeah, have you guys seen our show, yet?"

Z: "Parts of it. We've watched a bit more of it _today_ , but we're not _completely_ done with it. Episode 18?"

R: "You would not know what _this_ was then. We too fought our resident conspiracy group, as you did. However, at least in the-"

Z: "Don't spoil us, Rei!"

She stopped and paused. "Do not say I did not _try_ to warn you."

H: "Can we at least know what... _those_ Evangelion are?"

K: "Mass Production Evangelion. Autonomous drones that SEELE designed for their own purposes."

A: "Yeah, we've dealt with _plenty_ of them before."

S: "I imagine they would've _stopped_ , at this point."

A: "I mean, you'd _think_ , considering we essentially destroyed _Mars_. But I still wouldn't tempt fate like that."

**(6)**

It was Shinji's turn to sigh. "It _is_ the Laserdisc scenario."

H: "You did not act?"

R: "Not that he _could_ , at least at _this_ point. Unit-01 was immobilised."

S: "Not to mention literally _everyone_ I knew and loved had _died_ or was _about_ to die."

Z: "That bad, eh?"

**(7)**

Z: "Oh jeez, it _is_ that bad."

K: "His mental state, to say the least, was _not_ good."

A: "Understatement of the century, Kaworu."

R: "I believe we are not _in_ this time, however. Maybe a flash back."

**(8)**

They _all_ winced at the scene.

R: "Sometimes I hate when I am right."

K: "So this will be a _continuation_ , akin to Wolk's work."

Z: "There's _another_?"

A: "Yeah, an _actual_ book."

Sh: "At least in _literature_ , you don't really get _visuals_."

H: "I dunno, sometimes using _imagination_ makes it worse. At least with a _visual_ , you know."

**(10)**

K: "At least by the _looks_ of it, you took this _worse_ than in Wolk's book."

S: "Y'know, there's only so many _breakdowns_ I _could_ go through before I just collapse."

A: "Hell, you _already_ collapsed. _We_ did. And whenever we hit the bottom of the barrel, we broke through it."

R: "Pierce the _floor_ , Evangelion."

Shinji and Asuka burst out laughing at the parody, while Hiro and Zero Two just looked at them confused. "I'm guessing _another_ reference we don't get."

A: "You two _do_ have a lot to catch up on."

_Control-Z_ (12)

Confusion ran rife. " _That_ was a _dream_?"

K: "Quite the _prophetic_ dream. However, depending on _where_ in the timeline we are, events may be set."

R: "So far, all the different universes have splintered from the following events: This universe from the Laserdiscs when Asuka and Shinji kissed, and Wolk's from the Laserdiscs when the post-Instrumentality Shinji and Asuka returned to the Laserdiscs after Iruel."

Z: "Spoilers!"

A: "It's not even a _spoiler_ , Zero Two. You pretty much _know_ from the beginning they end up going back."

H: "Either way, there's a _way_ to find out _what's_ going on."

Hiro flipped the page.  **(13)**

Not that it _helped_ the confusion. "So _I_ had a dream after _Leliel_."

K: "Therefore, we should consider that the splinter point between Laserdisc and this."

A: "But at _that_ point, _we_ already _fucked_ our relationship."

R: "Not beyond repair. The thing that _did_ pull you further away was the culmination of _all_ the Angels after Leliel."

H: "Well, it depends on _what_ went wrong. I know Zero Two and I had a few... bad times."

Z: "But we got through them. Surely _you_ could, at least _here_."

S: "Did you get as far as Leliel?"

Zero Two gave a nod. "Yeah, that kiss was _kinda awkward_ , but considering how... _ehhh_ you two were."

A: "Believe us, it went _much_ better in _this_ world."

K: "But this is an interesting scenario. A prophetic dream, unlike Wolk's work where you _did_ experience the past."

R: "It is whether you can _act_ on this dream. At least _here_ , changes started to happen _at_ Leliel. There is potential."

H: "I would think he act _regardless_."

_Testing_ (14)

A: "You certainly _look_ relieved."

Z: "They got you into testing _immediately_? You just woke from a _coma!_ "

S: "All's fair in love and war. Not like the _Angels_ would care."

_'Most of them, at least.'_

**(15)**

R: "Of course, Shinji was _in_ Leliel, as the Laserdiscs. They would want to check him out, make sure Leliel did not cause anything untoward."

K: "By the looks of it, this _has_ caused a change. In the sync ratio, at least."

H: "Of course, it could be the result of the _dream_. I'm sure _I'd_ be determined if I knew the world was gonna end."

A: "It's more than you can say of _most_ people. Most would just _collapse_."

S: "Hell, I _did_ collapse."

R: "At the very least, _this_ would help your confidence."

S: "At the cost of _Asuka's_. Like the Laserdiscs."

**(16)**

Kaworu furrowed his brow. "That was... this seems like _too much_ of a recollection to be a mere _dream_."

Z: "I mean, dreams _can_ be odd like that."

R: "Either way, it seems he _knows_ that you would react poorly if he beat you in the sync test."

A: "I mean, he's _completely correct_. Hell, he'd probably know that even if he _wasn't_ Wolked."

S: "Is _that_ what we're calling being taken back to the past?"

She shrugged. "You have any _other_ word you want to use?"

S: "No."

H: "What would you call _our_ situation? Dying and going to _another_ world?"

K: " _Isekai_ works."

Zero Two gave a frown. "That's kinda _boring_."

_Results_ (17)

A: "Well well, Shin-chan, looks like you were _right_." She messed his hair. "Thanks for not destroying my mental state this time around!"

S: "Don't mention it." Flat as the table.

H: "You seem rather... smug about it."

A: "Yep, that's my Laserdisc self. She wasn't exactly _that_ pleasant."

K: "Perhaps the first thing Shinji would do is to get closer to you and Rei."

R: "...If he _is_ from the future past, as in Wolk's book. Then he would _know_ the truth about me."

S: "Do you think that'll _affect_ our relationship?"

R: "...Potentially. At least in Wolk's work, you two had time to come to terms with my... status. You might not have that."

K: "And considering _what_ just happened. To Shinji, if he _was_ indeed Wolked, he would come from _immediately_ after the End of Evangelion."

A: "And all the _shit_ that implies."

Z: "Shit we haven't _seen_ , yet."

S: "You've already seen _some_ of it, in this."

**(18)**

R: "It appears you _are_ trying to get on better terms with her."

A: "That's something _I_ didn't expect."

K: "Why would you? Considering, if this follows the Laserdiscs, _what_ happened."

H: "But that wasn't _so_ bad, in comparison to _most_ things that could happen."

Z: "By the sounds of it they _do_ happen, at least in these here Laserdiscs."

S: "...I wonder if this is _genuine_ , or just trying to make things better."

H: "It's _pretty_ obvious you have _something_ for one another, in the Laserdiscs. I'd say this was just him saying it."

Z: "Maybe you found the courage to do so _after_ such a dream."

R: "Either way. I believe this is the beginning of a turnaround in your relationship."

A: " _You_ don't seem too amused at that, Rei."

R: "Considering you and I would not be on good terms at this point. And if I was _drugged_ as I was here."

_But a Dream_ (19)

Kaworu pursed his lips at the imagery. "It was _not_ a dream."

R: "It would be how he _justify_ this, however. Indeed, such things would be _incomprehensible_ , unless you experienced it for yourself."

Z: "Considering I'm _already_ finding it hard to keep track on what happens here."

H: "I can see _why_ Shinji would be relieved at such thing. Even _if_ I don't know much about _what_ happened."

A: "I'm sure _my_ reaction helped as well." She deadpanned.

S: "It probably _would_ , actually. Would've reminded me on how you _usually_ were."

A: "That doesn't paint _me_ in a good light, Shinji."

**(20)**

Z: " _They're_ starting to catch on to your changes, Shinji."

S: "They _would_ be quite obvious changes, I imagine."

A: "Not to mention the _timeskip_. I'm sure such things _would_ appear."

R: "From what it looks, he is patching up the relationship between you and him."

A: "I mean, this is probably the _best_ time you could _after_ the kiss."

K: "But is he neglecting _everyone else_ doing this?"

H: "The only other person he _would_ be would be _Rei_ , wouldn't it? I know _here_ , you two are _not_ an item."

Z: "In the _Laserdiscs_ , though."

R: "I know _now_ , such a relation would be... odd. Considering our status. But I do hold such feelings for him, still do. And Asuka knows this."

K: "Considering you hold such feelings for _her_ as well. There _are_ differing kinds of love; sibling, friendship, romantic. And many others Rei could elaborate on."

R: " _This_ Rei would not know what I do, however. And I think it obvious he be pursuing _Asuka_."

A: "This isn't gonna devolve into a catfight between _us_ , is it?"

R: "I hope not. But who knows at this point."

**(21)**

H: "This page basically confirmed what we speculated." He stated.

K: "That's generally what happens. I doubt this is good for _Rei_ , however."

R: "Indeed. It was Shinji who my Laserdisc self was... attracted to. This sudden change would seem odd to her."

Z: "If he was indeed _neglecting_ her for Asuka."

A: "He did that in _our_ world, I probably would _force_ him to spend time with Rei."

R: "Then again, the only reason _we_ got so close was because you got me off the drugs."

S: "I imagine _they_ would be doing a number on her, as well."

A: "...Still, I don't want to see _her_ like this."

R: "...I suggest this will be status quo. At this point. Since he _knows_ the truth about me."

**(22)**

S: "This page basically confirmed what we speculated."

They all rolled their eyes.

_Fourth_ (23)

K: "Kensuke certainly thinks it's due to another pilot being chosen."

A: "I think that's just his general obliviousness to _that_ kind of thing."

R: "Considering it took _me_ to get him Sayaka and Kyoko."

H: " _You_ got those three together? I've always wondered _how_ such a relationship would... work."

R: "Oh, it does. And I am sure if they _want_ to tell you about it, they would."

He got the memo and promptly shut up about it.

S: "Surely it _would_ be obvious to Kensuke, even _Toji_ seems to know."

K: "Suzuhara is surprisingly insightful, when it comes to this kind of thing. He _was_ the person who pointed out you two were like a married couple."

Z: "Even from the _Laserdiscs_ , I can tell he cares about those he's close with."

A: "I don't _like_ what he did to Shinji, but I can _understand_."

R: "It is a handy excuse, for Kensuke at least."

**(24)**

K: "Yet _another_ thing you remember from the future passed."

H: "I think at _this_ point, it should be obvious you... _Wolked?_ Is that the word you used?"

A: "Maybe you should _read_ his book, so you'd know _what_ happened."

Z: "Not only are we _still_ going through the Laserdiscs, we're going through _another_ book. An _actual_ piece of fiction, instead of something from another world."

S: "Ain't _that_ a change for once."

R: "It appears like you _realised_ something about him, Asuka."

A: " _Or_ , I'm about to rip him a new one."

_Bardiel_ (25)

H: "Guess we won't know."

A: "Ah Christ, its Unit-03."

R: "This was _expected_ at this point."

A: "I know, but it's still fucked."

**(26)**

K: "Here we go again."

Z: "The possessed Evangelion, right?"

S: "Yep. Didn't go so well in the Laserdiscs."

A: "Surely whoever wrote this would _make_ it better."

S: "Knowing _our_ luck."

**(27)**

S: "I'm already _there_?"

R: "If you knew what would happen."

K: "It seems you're beginning to realise this."

H: "This will just make you more determined to _prevent_ the future from happening as it did."

A: "Great, you're gonna go full Gurren Lagann on Bardiel."

S: "That would be a _good_ thing."

**(28)**

Z: "...Damn, you look _stone cold_ here, Shinji."

S: "Far cry from the Laserdiscs."

A: "Considering _what_ happened in the Laserdiscs. At least I _want_ to prevent Shinji from experiencing this."

K: "Already an improvement in your relationship, in relation to the Laserdiscs. At the very least, you have returned to your relationship _prior_ to your kiss."

H: "Was _that_ much better?"

R: "It was _ambivalent_ , but it was not outright _destructive_."

_Memory_ (29)

S: "Looks less like _determination_ , and more like _violent PTSD_."

A: "If you _didn't_ have PTSD after all that shit, you'd be classified as a psychopath."

H: "You could _probably_ classify Shinji like that in this point, no offence."

S: "It's not _me_ , per say, so it's not like I can really _argue_."

R: "I believe we will be getting _violent_ soon."

K: "So par for the course for us."

**(30)**

Asuka grumbled. "I see this hasn't changed one bit."

Z: "...I'd say this was even _more_ violent than the Bardiel of the Laserdiscs."

H: " _Is_ that even Bardiel? It's kinda hard to tell in this."

S: "I think it _is_. I would _not_ lay my hands on Asuka like this. Not now."

R: "...If anything, you would want to _stop_ this."

K: "I imagine _violently_."

**(31)**

R: "...And this is where that determination shines through."

S: "Even from _this_ , I'm already overpowering it."

K: "Maybe this will prevent the use of the _dummy system_."

A: "That _would_ make this better. It might as well be a _pattern_ at this point."

K: "The dummy system never works and only makes things _worse_ for us?"

H: "I never understood the dummy system. I mean, _sure_ , but surely a _computer_ wouldn't be as good as a _pilot_."

A: "I'm sure _Eliza_ would like that." She lied.

Z: "Have you never _seen_ this kind of strength from Shinji, before?"

A: "From a Laserdisc context, _no_. But he _has_ been determined. Not _aggressive_ , like this."

S: "At least _here_ , you know that I'm prone to... that."

A: "As we _all_ are. But... I imagine this is the first time _she's ever_ seen that side of you."

_Too Strong_ (32)

H: "I see he was still as _violent_ as when the dummy system was activated."

S: "Think about it, I doubt I was in a good headspace at that point in time."

R: "Post Traumatic Stress tends to do that, I would think."

Z: "They could've _shown_ us this."

A: "Do you _really_ think they could _draw_ this? I know Gainax has a budget of _12 Yen_ , but at least they're an _actual studio_. I wouldn't be surprised if this was drawn by some Hikikomori in their mother's basement."

S: "Not like we really _have_ basements here."

A: "That just makes it _worse_!"

K: "It's handy they _told_ us all this, however. It's typical to what I'd expect, given you have foreknowledge of what happened, Shinji."

S: "Well, if I _knew_ , I would _know_ how to respond to this."

R: "Indeed, this is what _you_ did in this world. Immobilising Bardiel in a non destructive way, and recovering the pilot with minimal injuries."

Z: "Kinda amazing, considering how _violent_ it appeared to be."

H: "Would that mean you have _another_ Evangelion, at least when it's fixed?"

K: "Many hands make light work. It would help in the future."

A: "...I wonder how this will affect _our_ relationship. Cause up until _here_ , it sounds like I thought _I_ was better."

**(33)**

H: "Well, we know the answer."

Asuka sighed. "It's what I expected."

R: "Your Laserdisc self would not like attacks on her skill. And this would be seen as an _egregious_ attack."

A: "Well, yeah. I don't want _anyone_ to go easy on _me_. I had to deal with that _so much_ when I was younger, hell it's one of the reasons I _like_ being a pilot."

K: "Even _if_ it's evident Shinji was doing it because he _knew_ you would react like this."

A: "While _normally_ I'd say it would be better being _honest_ with me, I can see _why_ Shinji would do that to my _Laserdisc_ self."

Z: "You can even _see_ from the last panel, he never meant to _hurt_ you."

S: "I think this was trying to _prevent_ me from hurting Asuka's pride."

A: "Though I think it would've happened regardless. There's only so long you can hold back your _true_ strength for."

R: "...Maybe this will help form a new understanding between you two. If you can look past this apparent slight, Asuka."

**(34)**

She sighed again. "You were saying, Rei?"

R: "...I never said it would be an _immediate_ understanding."

_Looking Forward_ (35)

Z: "And yet he _continues_ to try making things better between the two of you."

A: "Considering how the _previous_ world was like."

H: "We haven't even _seen_ the whole of it, and we can understand that."

R: "Considering _Zeruel_ is the next Angel, I would suggest you two patch up."

S: "...Of course, we know from Wolk's book, that changing the past doesn't necessarily make it _perfect_."

**(36)**

K: "So about that patching up."

R: "Maybe if they did not _immediately_ skip to Zeruel."

A: "It was kinda like that in the _Laserdiscs_ as well. It was pretty much _immediately_ after Bardiel, wasn't it?"

S: "Even in _our_ world, it was. Have _you two_ seen the Laserdisc Zeruel?"

H: "It's the _last_ episode we've seen, so far."

S: "Then you'd know how..."

Z: "Yeah."

**(37)**

H: "Dang, Shinji."

A: "As we said. He _can_ be determined."

S: "When I have the motivator."

K: " _Already_ , you appear to be going stronger against Zeruel."

S: "It's more than we can say about _Wolk's_ book, at least."

R: "Wolk's work went similarly to the Laserdiscs. So far, only _our_ universe has had a somewhat different scenario when it comes to Zeruel."

Z: "Though I doubt you'd _like_ being reduced to _supporting_ Shinji, Asuka."

A: "Oh _she_ wouldn't like that."

**(38)**

A: "Of _course_ I wouldn't allow myself to be _support_."

H: " _Rei_ doesn't appear to like this."

R: "I think I am _still_ going through those complex feelings from Shinji isolating himself from me. Seeing her and Shinji work together like this would only exacerbate them."

Z: "...Hopefully it doesn't affect you _too_ much. I know with... _Futoshi_ how heartbreak like that can affect you."

Rei thought. "Even with all the things I was on, I still _felt_. They were just muted."

K: "But that just means a sufficiently _strong_ emotion would break through the clouds."

R: "And I can see how... languishing like this could result in emotion like that."

_Match_ (39)

S: "Even _with_ foreknowledge, I couldn't face Zeruel like _this_."

R: "That was _Wolk's_ interpretation of foreknowledge. Perhaps in _this_ iteration, the fact you _know_ how Zeruel is like means you can graph their overall strategy."

K: "So even _Zeruel_ could be mere automata to a looper."

A: "If only _we_ had this foreknowledge."

Z: "I'm sure we _all_ would be in better situations if we knew the future."

H: "It looks like this is _terrifying_ you, Asuka."

A: "Well, think about it. I've never seen him _this_ angry before, even though I _know_ he can be like this from Bardiel."

Z: "At least the _imagery_ is pretty decent."

**(40)**

A: "Yeah, this _is_ how I would react to this."

R: "We can assume it will end the _same_ way it did in the Laserdiscs, then."

K: "I doubt Shinji will allow Zeruel to further destroy your fragile ego, no offence."

A: "Oh I _know_ my ego was fragile back then."

**(41)**

Z: "I doubt _this_ will help, then."

H: "If she even _survives_ this."

S: "I would _not_ allow her to die. Not _now_. This would just make me _more_ determined."

A: "...I still shouldn't have done that. But... it _is_ what I would've done."

**(42)**

A: "...Holy shit, Shinji."

S: "As I said."

Z: " _You_ out of all people would know he can do this."

A: "...It's still surprising whenever I see it. Cause to _me_ , Shinji is one of the gentlest persons I know."

K: "But in the Evangelion..."

R: "Perhaps this is what the Asuka of _this_ is realising."

**(43)**

H: "...What the hell just happened _here_?"

K: " _Something_ happened to Zeruel."

A: "Maybe Shinji used _pure determination_ to _detonate_ Zeruel."

S: "Oh great, we have _Spiral Power_ in this."

_Disabled_ (44)

They saw the full extent of Unit-01's damage. "Wait, his _head_ got blown off?"

K: "And yet Unit-01 _continued_."

A: "Maybe they _do_ have Spiral Power."

H: "So how _did_ Unit-01 continue to move?"

S: " _Should_ we even try to answer this?"

R: "'Determination' is a nice catch all for unexplained things, like this."

A: "Maybe for _Gurren Lagann_ where you could _get away_ with something like that. But in _our_ world."

S: "You could _still_ get away with it. Just look at the _Theatricals_."

**(45)**

S: "Ah. _That_ explains it."

A: "You were taken _again_?"

R: "So it was _not_ you who did that. It was _the Evangelion._ "

Z: "That's what happened in the Laserdiscs, as well?"

K: "You would not have seen the next episode, but yes."

H: "It sounds like the _Evangelion_ knows about Shinji's plight."

S: "She would."

_Ward_ (46)

A: "I see I'm being tsun as usual."

S: "We don't know how much time has passed, have we?"

R: "Both Laserdiscs and Wolk have had one month pass. I would expect something similar here."

A: "I can't tell if I took it _better_."

Z: "Might just be _me_ , but judging by the panels, it looks like this thing you want to tell him is something... _significant_."

K: "A confession, perhaps."

A: "Do you really think my _Laserdisc_ self could do that?"

**(47)**

H: "Apparently not."

A: "Ah Christ, I think I made you snap again."

S: "...Like in Wolk's work."

A: "I think we've established at this point I _need_ something like this to change. At least my _Laserdisc_ self."

K: "Even if the only other work that we know of that _did_ exactly this was _Wolk's_. Asuka never had that opportunity in the Laserdiscs."

**(48)**

Z: "Well. If _anything_ would convince you that he cared for you."

A: "...This _certainly_ would. This was just like with Sandalphon, wasn't it?"

R: "It could certainly be _seen_ as related to Sandalphon. However, after _everything_ that has happened to him, it would be more than that."

S: " _Much_ more than that. I would've _never_ wanted to see Asuka hurt like... _that_ again."

H: "Completely understandable, I would think. Even from the _glances_ of the future we get."

K: "Even _here_ , you would not want to see someone you love so much hurt in this way. And it's evident in the Laserdiscs you _both_ had feelings for one another."

R: "Such feelings would only be _increased_ in this situation."

Z: "I wonder how _you'll_ react to this, Asuka."

Asuka gave another sigh. "I don't really know at this point."

**(49)**

H: "...It's better than what I would expect of your Laserdisc counterpart."

A: "Just about _anything_ I do is better than her."

R: "You have just found out that Shinji really _does_ want to protect you, despite your complaints."

Z: "I imagine that would cause you to _think_."

A: "...Considering it would've been the first time I _ever_ had someone willing to do that. Even _here_ , when _we_ got together, I was kinda like that."

_Weakening_ (50)

R: "...Not that this will help _me_."

K: "I imagine it _would_ be hard on you."

S: "Not just because I've fallen for _Asuka_ , as here."

A: "You've been _isolating_ her. No _wonder_ she's beginning to suffer in the Evangelion department."

Z: "It's something about her, isn't it? That we haven't been privy to, yet."

Rei gave a short nod. "Indeed. And... it's natural someone would be afraid of my origin."

A: "Did you think that when you told _us_?"

R: "...Somewhat. But... I knew our relationship would help you understand."

**(51)**

Rei had a small realisation. Shaking her head at the thought. "I... I think I am trying to become _more_ like Asuka, in order to get your attention."

H: "You wouldn't know the _root_ of this aloofness, though."

R: "No. Which means this will fail."

S: "...Man, I'm being an asshole to you. Am I?"

A: "Yeah, you kinda are, Shinji." Candid.

K: "At the very least, this isn't _you_ as you are. We know for a fact you would _never_ isolate her like this."

Z: "And yet, the adults aren't too concerned."

R: "Which I find odd. Because I know for a fact _Ritsuko_ would at least show _some_ concern, even if it is just based on the fact I am _showing_ this kind of emotion and longing."

**(52)**

A: "...Oh Christ, how did I forget about _Kaji?_ How's _he_ gonna fare this time?"

R: "As long as he does not _die_ , that would be an improvement."

Z: "Spoilers!"

K: "It's an interesting look into your general thoughts, Shinji. At least at _this_ point, you would not know the full extent of Asuka's troubles, like here."

S: "...And yet I still love her."

H: "Love can be like that."

A: "Shame I didn't have a more... productive way of showing affection."

**(53)**

R: "I am sure Kaji would know this all too well."

Z: "He and the Commander have history. We know from the _Laserdiscs_."

K: "Do you know the _exact_ history?"

H: "No, not really."

Asuka gave a small chuckle. "If you think _we_ orbited each other for a bit."

**(54)**

S: "Speaking of."

R: "He has a point. You never really know what _drives_ someone. But there is always _something_."

K: "Be it love or something else."

Z: "I know _I_ was driven by love."

A: "Join the club."

H: "I wonder if this insight will help you out, Shinji."

**(55)**

R: "And yet the _only_ person who can make the _change_ is you yourself."

_Pine_ (56)

A: "Man, I hope I don't blow up at you."

R: "I would honestly expect such thing. Though I believe I am not being productive in doing this."

H: "It's hard to call overwhelming emotion like that _productive_."

**(57)**

K: "I think you might be right, Rei."

Z: "...Forceful, perhaps? I know _I'm_ not a stranger to such thing..."

**(58)**

S: "...Perhaps this is where I tell you the truth."

R: "One _I_ would understand. Given what I know. And given the sheer _scale_ of your love of her."

A: "...But the you of _this_."

Rei shook her head. "How have I fallen to this jealousy and... desperation."

Z: "Because you _love_ him, at least _this_ version of you."

**(59)**

R: "...Thing is. This would just push you _away_ from me."

S: "You said yourself. I am I."

R: "It seems this iteration of me did not get the memo."

Asuka noticed Rei gradually getting more despondent. "...Rei?"

R: "I'm okay, Asuka. It is just... concerning, seeing me like this."

H: "And seeing how you could... become this as well?"

R: "Could _have_. In _this_ world, our relationship was far and away _better_. I was accepted by both Shinji and Asuka for myself."

K: "Seeing yourself getting pushed away by _both_ of them would naturally make you feel this way."

R: "...Yeah. And the thing is. I doubt this will get better."

**(60)**

The Rei of the doujin tipped the paint bucket over her.

Rei gave a disappointed sigh, taking Kaworu's hand as a lifeline, as she was proven right. "Damn it."

**(61)**

The general atmosphere only darkened as she continued her desperation "...Damn it."

A: "She's not even _angry_ at you." But a whisper.

R: "...Pity. You _know_ how this is affecting me."

S: "But will she act?"

Asuka and Rei gave a significant look. "It... it would not be in your best interest, at this stage. We... do not have the same relationship we do here."

**(62)**

K: "...And if ever was there a nail in the proverbial coffin that was your relationship with Shinji. At least at this stage."

Z: "She would have _never_ become this desperate if Shinji even gave her _some_ attention. Even _if_ he preferred Asuka."

R: "...Indeed." Quiet. "But... that is how it goes. It was even somewhat like that in Wolk's work."

S: "And yet we decided to _befriend_ you even further, because we _knew_ that would be for the best."

A: "What... what does this mean for _you_ , Rei? I- I know at least for _me_ , when I was completely put down by just _everything_ , I completely collapsed."

Rei had to think about this. "I... do not know. How I would respond in this situation."

H: "...I doubt it would be anything good."

**(64)**

S: "...Why am I being like this."

R: "Because you know. And... you have decided it would be better _not_ to form a relationship with me."

S: "I know that much, but... _why_? Surely I would think _befriending_ you would make things better!"

K: " _You_ would."

**(65)**

Z: "This is... really..."

A: "Uncomfortable? Yeah, this happens."

S: "It feel like to _me_ whoever made this doesn't _like you_ , Rei."

R: "Of course, desperation can change _anyone_. Even someone like... me."

K: "If we consider this a possibility of our universe, then it isn't even through the animosity of a particular author. This was how we reacted."

**(66)**

Hiro squirmed in his seat. "Not that it helps Rei."

A: "At least you offered her _something_ , Shinji. It's more than you did this whole _month prior_."

K: "I think we must consider, Shinji's mental state would not be much better than his _Laserdisc_ self. At least his _Wolk_ counterpart had several _years_ with Asuka and Aki to think about and come to terms with all this. To _this_ Shinji, _immediately after_ the end of End of Evangelion, he woke up in his bed like _nothing_ happened."

R: "So it makes sense he react in this way."

S: "...Makes sense. But doesn't help _anyone_. Not even _me_."

_Hello, Welcome Home_ (67)

A: "They know. So surely they could _help_."

R: "Do you think, at this stage, they _would_?"

H: "I think it's clear your fellow pilots _won't._ "

Z: "This was our world, the Caretakers would _immediately_ act."

S: "Then again, in the _Laserdiscs_ , practically _everyone_ reacted to things in not so ideal ways."

K: "Considering _what_ happened at the end."

**(68)**

Asuka gave a glance to the page.

And back to Zero Two. "What was it Misato said, there was _no_ pornography here?"

Z: "Trust me, or at least your _mother_. It was much _worse_ than this."

A: "Thing is, this doesn't surprise me. I _know_ Shinji loves and cares for me, despite the previous kiss. So... maybe this is my way of saying 'Hey idiot, I care for you as well!'"

S: "...Once again, probably _not_ a productive way of going about it."

Z: "Nothing like surprising your partner with... well, _yourself_."

R: "Generally the prerequisite for such a thing is to be _partners_."

H: "It's how I met Zero Two."

Z: "Yeah, and _we_ went alright, didn't we?"

K: "Of course, this is all mitigated by the fact that _Rei_ would still be in a depression."

R: "I do not think they would care too much, at this point."

Z: "By the looks of it, they don't even _know_. Shinji seems almost _scared_ , and Asuka only paid attention to _herself_ , no offence."

A: "Offend _this_ Asuka all you want. These are _not us_ , and will _never_ be us."

**(69)**

S: "...Even the _promise_ was similar."

A: "I think this one is more... infantile. I... _she_ doesn't want to be alone anymore. Not like before."

R: "Same as _you_ , then."

K: "It _does_ appear desperate. Especially her asking you to _not love anyone else_."

H: "You can understand that. She's offered _herself_."

S: "And if I denied that now... but I didn't."

Z: "You've accepted her."

A: "I'm sure she'll be happy about that."

**(70)**

A: "Jeez, I know I'm a bit domineering, but _this_ is overdoing it a bit."

S: "So what, I can't talk to _Misato_ anymore?"

R: "I am sure _that_ will fly during a _sortie_."

A: "I think _battle conditions_ would be one of the many exceptions to this."

K: "This is yet another example of your insecurities, at least in _this_ iteration."

A: "Oh I _still_ have insecurity like that. I've just been _much_ better ever since I got into a healthy relationship."

Z: "I mean, can you really call _any_ of our relationships healthy?"

R: "We have established at this point that _this_ universe is the proverbial gold standard."

A: "I thought we called it the _tin standard_."

R: "Hence 'proverbial'. Our... _tin standard,_ has so far been established to be the _best_ result we have seen thus far."

S: "Which is saying _a lot_."

_Sapphires (71)_

K: "The eyes never lie."

R: "That is why many people _shield_ them." Emphasis intended. "To close themselves off."

Z: "This is her opening up _completely_ to you, Shinji."

S: "And I realised this. You're just like me."

A: "I wonder if _I_ realised that, however. You at least got to _redo_ this again. I'm still the same me during the Laserdiscs."

H: "You realised that _here_ , I gather."

She gave a nod. "Quite quickly as well. Y'know, seeing all _this_ has really made me appreciate our relationship more."

**(72)**

A: "...At least she _knows_ it's unreasonable."

K: "This would be your _second_ kiss."

S: "And even from the _silhouette_ , you can tell it's better."

Z: "At least _you two_ have gotten something good out of this. Poor _Rei_ has gotten _completely_ shafted."

R: "It is understandable. But... I do not know what I would do after that."

H: "...I doubt this is making you feel better, then."

R: "Seeing Asuka and Shinji like _this_... is helping."

**(73)**

A: "And now it's _my_ turn to promise myself to you."

S: "You made that promise for _me_."

A: "Also, it doesn't get more... _lewd_ than this, does it?"

Z: "No. I think."

Asuka, unamused, put up an eyebrow. "You _think_."

Z: "Not like we _read_ it. What do you take us for, _perverts_?"

H: "I-I mean-"

R: "This is _both_ of you completely accepting one another."

K: "As you did here."

A: "We weren't _this_ quick to the punch, though. I doubt we even have _protection_." She blinked a few times. "Oh _fuck_."

S: "You think... _that_ will happen _again_?"

Z: "That happened to you _before_?!"

A: "Not _here!_ We actually thought to use _protection_ the first time _we_ did it, though let me tell you we were _this_ close to _not_ giving a shit about it."

R: "You do know the laws of cosmic irony would have dictated you _immediately_ become pregnant after such an event."

A: "Oh we know that _now_. The _last_ thing we would've needed was to deal with a child; not that we'd _eventually_ mind, but probably not when we're risking our _lives_ practically _daily_ piloting _giant titans_ against _other_ giant titans."

_No Place_

K: "I imagine this is _immediately_ afterwards."

Z: "Who would _that_ be, then?"

Rei  **Flipped** the page. "...Oh."

H: "So while you two are _loving_ , she's left out in the cold."

S: "I think we established full well at this point I'm _not_ being a good friend to her."

A: "...I think you've decided on something, Rei."

**Flip**

R: "...This is what I have decided. I can see how it would... look like that."

S: "This... is even worse for you in this case, isn't it? Because I was the... _only_ one you had as a friend, in the Laserdiscs."

A slow nod. "...Yeah. Now. I have no one."

They were all clearly rattled by her words. "...Not even back for that long, and I've already fucked up completely."

R: "I do not blame you, Shinji. This is just a consequence of what _you_ know, and what she _does not_ know."

K: "Would her knowing the _truth_ on _why_ he does not want to get close to you help?"

R: "...I doubt it."

**Flip**

The heart rate in the room spiked, as she said those words.

Asuka slowly started panicking. "Rei, are you... please... don't..."

R: "...I..." She could not calm herself, her all too logical mind concluding the worst. "I... have made that decision."

Zero Two soon realised the _implication_ of this. "W-wait. Are-"

R: "...why have I decided _this_ was the way. Knowing my... self."

Kaworu tried to keep a clear head. "The desperation has gotten to you. As... Rossiu."

Shinji looked like he was close to a breakdown, as Asuka went to hold him. "But... I... I wouldn't want that."

Hiro bowed his head, he too concerned at everyone else's concern. "Do you wish to continue this?"

They thought for a few moments. "What choice do we have?" Eventually, quietly, spoke Kaworu.

_Afterglow (83)_

A: "Oh _fuck off!_ You can't go from _that_ to... _this_!"

H: "And yet, they have."

R: "...Have we _skipped_ a few pages?"

Z: "You have your priorities in order, Rei."

Kaworu flipped through the prior pages. " _We_ didn't skip them."

S: "I wouldn't want to know _what_ was those pages, right?"

Z: "Probably porn. Which would make this even _more_ of a punch to the gut."

**(84)**

A: "...Wait a minute. Why are there _two_ of me?"

R: "How Shinji's PTSD or other such issues caused by _Instrumentality_ manifests, perhaps."

K: "...Mental issues like that _can_ manifest themselves as other people."

Z: "You would know, Kaworu?"

He gave a small nod, elaborating no further.

**(85)**

A: "Well look at that, _my tit_."

Z: "I wouldn't call this a _sexual_ context, however. Merely making a point to Shinji."

H: "If it even _is_ her, and not Shinji's own mind."

S: "I could _understand_ feeling guilty about this. Considering... _what_ happened."

K: "Then this would be how such guilt manifests itself."

**(86)**

R: "Good to see whoever made this has decided to keep tradition in _fucking us over_."

The Franxx pilots didn't _expect_ such an outburst from Rei, but considering _what_ she's going through.

A: "That's practically _normal_ in our world. Shit, _everything_ we've seen has had their fair share of _fucking the mental states of everyone_ , even Pacific Rim and that was _Hollywood_!"

_Phone_ (87)

He awoke to the phone.

A: "Ah Christ."

R: "...If I have made that decision..."

Z: "...Shinji will be the one to find out."

His breathing quickened. "...We... we are gonna _see_. Are we?"

R: "I would not be surprised." Quiet. "I... do not think we will be able to go through this work in one sitting."

Kaworu held _deep_ concern in his voice. "Rei, are you _sure_ you want to continue?"

Rei looked into his eyes. "We... must."

**(88)**

H: "...Misato did not stop her?"

R: "I do not... think she knew the full extent. Her asking Shinji to deliver my homework is proof of this, otherwise she would have... stopped me."

**(89)**

Z: "But... she didn't."

R: "...No."

He gently opened the door.

_May I touch them again?_ (90)

Asuka audibly yelped on seeing the horrifying image, all too painful memories rushing back.

Rei's attempts at hardening herself had fallen flat, as the _feelings_ rushed back. "...Why."

No one answered. All they were trying to do now was to last as long as it took to finish this off.

**(92)**

Zero Two's eyes and horns had a dim glow. "...what the fuck is _wrong_ with them?"

Rei was shaking. "...I even... expected this. But... not like this."

Shinji was as horrified as his counterpart. "...I-"

R: "NO! _You_ did not cause this, Shinji!" A painful yelp. "Not you. Not... you."

Kaworu merely responded by holding her closer.

**(94)**

H: "...Was this... you even went about business as normal beforehand."

R: "...There was another coffee cup."

**(95)**

A: "Why am I realising this now... why not before?"

**STOP 96**

Shinji couldn't take it anymore, rushing to the kitchen to void his lunch into a bin.

This only served to push Asuka and Rei over the edge, the both of their walls collapsing into dust.

Kaworu threw the doujin against the wall, a few pages fluttering out of it and it slumping behind the couch. "I humbly request we have some time _alone_ , Hiro and Zero Two."

They only had to take _one_ look at his _violently glowing golden eyes_ to get the memo. "We'll... go take out our anger on a tree or something."

"There is a park on the outskirts of the city. It's where Rei and I like to go when we need to chill off."

“…Duly noted."

They quickly evacuated.

Kaworu, being the only person _not_ having a complete breakdown at the moment, quickly wrapped _everyone_ up. "Shh... It's ok. It did not happen."

Possibly empty words, considering their reality. But what else could he do, his closest friends and lover _all_ in shambles.

"It's... ok."

* * *

##  **3\. Chain**

"Oh jeez, he wasn't kidding."

They looked over a small area, of _splintered_ trees.

"...Imagine just _what_ they've gone through. To have _this_ happen."

A nearby tree splintered, Hiro quickly turning around at the sudden cracking noise.

Normally she would look horrifying with glowing red eyes and horns, but her goofy smirk quickly defused any potential fear Hiro would _not_ have had anyway. "Well, it _works_. _Damn_ is that satisfying, you should try it darling!"

"Can I?"

She craned her head, strolling up to him and tapping him on the horns. "You don't get these from a ration box, darling."

He was soon dragged in front of a smaller, scraggly looking tree. "You're mad about what _they_ did to Rei, are you?"

"Yeah? But..."

"...What if that happened to _me_? Or-"

The tree became splinters, a blue glow emanating from his eyes.

"...Our other friends back home _Good grief_."

Hiro himself seemed somewhat shocked at this outburst of his. "Well. You weren't wrong, Zero Two."

~~~

"None of these people would last a _minute_ in our world." Ritsuko concluded, having seen some of the most recently discovered show for herself. "And this is from _Gainax_?"

"They're in the titles."

"Hard to believe, eh Sempai?"

"Considering how Gainax were with... _us_."

"Oh don't worry, Akagi." Said Kensuke, as he was busy on the Ultradisc machine. "It _does_ get screwy."

"As befits Gainax." She panned. "So you think we can _monetise_ this, Kensuke?"

"Well, _yeah_." He was frank. "It's _not_ Evangelion, hell you could say it's the _opposite_ of _everything_ in this world. So that's the issue with state secrets out of the way. And have you _seen_ the anime lately?"

"Other than what the universe decides to give us."

"It's frankly _shit_." Flat. "All the legendary works you hear people rave about; Akira, Ghost in the Shell, Cardcaptor Sakura, all out _before_ Second Impact. 'Bout the only things you see on the TV nowadays are cheap rips of Gundam or Sailor Moon, pretty much just following the same generic 'save the world' plots with no character or love involve. It's kinda sad, actually. Least _Shinkai_ and Ghibli are helping, even if they only release a film every couple years.”

"So if we _release_ this, maybe after some modifications to change the credit sequences, maybe alongside the Ultradisc pla-" Ritsuko's eyes drifted over Eliza, hunched over a desk. "...Eliza? Is everything..."

Stray puddles of tears formed on said desk.  "This... is illogical. Why... do I feel this way?"

Maya and Kensuke were now looking concerned. "Was it something I said?"

"No... I..." Racking her brain, she tried to come up with an explanation.  "Don't. Know."

" _Something_ would've caused it, however."

Maya thought. "What would _Rei_ be doing?"

"Well, there was that material we fo-" Glass shattered. "Oh _fuck_. I think I know _what_ would upset her. And... if you two had a link."

"...Why would we... no, that doesn't matter at this point." As she was going for the door.  "I'm going to her. Don't wait up if I'm not back tonight."

And so she left.

Kensuke sighed, as he went back to work. "Man, I'm never gonna understand this place."

~~~

A somewhat tipsy Misato and Kaji returned. "We're home!"

Silence.

"Could this be related to that doujin you gave them?"

"I wouldn't be surprised."

They went to the living room. "Jesus _Christ_."

The lights were on, but no one was there. 

There was a sizeable divot in the wall, various papers scattered over the floor. "Is _that_ the doujin?"

She sobered up rather quickly, knocking on Pen-Pen's door.

Even _he_ looked shocked. "Pen? Where's the others?"

He pointed to the front door, then to the hallway leading to the bedroom of Asuka and Shinji, before giving off a depressed 'Wark' and returning to his fridge, probably to drink his sorrow away.

"...Oy."

He was looking upon one of these scattered pages. "No wonder they'd be upset."

She ripped the page from his hands to examine.

Which she immediately regretted.

Said scene now in fine shreds on the floor, her next task was to find her two charges, having interpreted from Pen-Pen that Rei and Kaworu had already left. Probably wanting time for themselves, which she could respect.

Finding them was as easy as finding their room, and she peeked through the sliding door. "Shinji? Asuka?" She gently murmured.

Leaning up against the wall, in the darkened room, Asuka was holding her Shinji. "Hey, Misato." Quiet, was Asuka. "Shinji... took the end of that hard."

A glance downward. "I... can see."

"Sorry about the wall. Kaworu... did not appreciate what this did to Rei."

"It's... it’s fine."

Asuka gave a small huff, melancholic. "You were right, y'know. This _would've_ made you upset."

"It _is_ making me upset, Asuka."

"Good thing you have Kaji, then. As Shinji has me."

"...Yeah." A few moments of silence. "I'm guessing you're calling it a night here?"

"Yeah."

"...Take care of him, then."

"...Always."

The door was gently shut.

Leaving Asuka and an uneasily sleeping Shinji in the dark.

"...Gottverdammt." Muttering, as she held him closer. "Gottverdammt..."

~~~

The scene with Shinji and Asuka was repeated in the apartment of the Nephilim, Adam comforting Lilith in the moon lit room. The gentle glow of Kaworu's eyes also provided an illusion of illumination.

"...Been a while since this happened. Eh fish?"

"None of the things we've seen have been this traumatising for us."

"You... probably should not have reacted like that with the work. We... still have more of it to read, after all."

"So like before. Despite what it shows us, we will persist in reading it."

"...Out of all the people, we are the best people to... witness it."

There was a knock on the door, both perking towards the sound. "I'll get it, Rei."

She gave a disappointed noise as he got up, to the door.

"...Eliza?"

He was pushed aside, as she entered their abode.

And Eliza saw Rei's sorry state.  "R- Rei?"

"How did you-"

As Rei taught her, Eliza immediately sprinted towards her pilot and wrapped her up in a hug.  "I... don't know. But I know... _something_ happened. And... that I should be here."

This show of affection was enough to push Rei over the edge once again.

But Eliza kept station.

As Kaworu kept watch over the two.

* * *


	2. ReC 02

* * *

##  **1\. Woods**

While it was rather unfortunate they ended up _here_ of all places, Hiro and Zero Two soon saw it as an opportunity to develop their own skillsets, as Rei and Kaworu started when they first came here.

Call it training, out of respect for their friends.

And much like when they first came here, they moved onto the more _defensive_ forms. Sure, you could turn trees into splinters all night, but what if those trees decided to fight back?

So, they worked on this AT-Field. Albeit not too much better than the _last_ time they really focused on training such thing. "Gah!"

"Sorry!"

Hiro sat down on the ground, puffed. "Man, this is kinda exhausting."

"They _did_ say you might not have the... way to power such thing."

"You can always try powering through _emotion_." Mediated Kaworu, standing behind them. "The Solenoid is a gift from God, but it does have its limits. But we should know, the power of _emotion_."

"Kaworu? Why are you _here_ and not with _Rei_?"

A small smile. "Eliza has been tending to her for the past few hours. Rei herself told me to go out and cool myself down, so to speak."

_'And don't burn down the forest while you're at it.'_ Rei psychically added.

"'Yes, I'll try not to, Rei.'" Deliberately simulcasting, so as to sow confusion within the _other_ Nephilim.

It worked. "Is that _another_ -"

"Yes." Succinct. "Rei and I are linked, as you would know. What she feels, _I_ feel."

"...Hence the violently glowing golden eyes?"

Gaining a sense of clarity, he went for a nearby stream, so as to look at his reflection. "They aren't _violently_ glowing anymore, Zero Two. But yes. Emotion is rather the fickle thing, though." As he paced around the clearing. "Sometimes it drives someone on further. Other times it causes them to collapse. It depends on many factors."

"Of course, I'm sure seeing Rei like... _that_."

"Yes." The glow spiked up a bit. "Of course, looking around, I can see _how_ your emotion drove you."

"Well... we've _started_ trying _defence_. As you taught us."

"I noticed. The AT-Field is the light of one's soul, a barrier no one may pass."

"I wonder if _that's_ why my AT-Field isn't that great at blocking Zero Two."

Kaworu gave a few light chuckles. "It can be like that, sometimes. You two have a link, akin to us. One we saw was forged in fire."

" _Literal_ fire." Hiro noted.

"Indeed, but in that moment you two became linked. As Rei and I."

She thought. "...Could we use _that_? To... help us?"

He gave a nod. "Certainly."

"...Could you _teach_ us?"

"I _could_. Though I doubt right _now_ would be too appropriate."

"Fair." She conceded. "How's... Rei?"

"...Better than she was. Who knows if we will be able to read yet more of this work tomorrow, however."

~~~

Eliza was continuing to lean on her sister/twin/pilot/what have you.  "Are... you usually like this, Rei? If you don't mind me asking."

"Not _all_ the time. Just... when it gets too much."

"It's just... I don't really see you like this. Do I?"

A huff. "I keep it hidden. Kaworu knows well of this. Shinji and Asuka, too. Misato and your mothers would, additionally."

"So most people we know."

"I know more people than _that_ , Eliza."

"Then again, I haven't had _much_ perspective in many things."

"...Indeed. But you know of my and Kaworu's... status."

"I have seen the Laserdiscs, after all." She glanced down, at her own pale hands, contrasting them with Rei's own.  "Do... you think _I_ am like that as well?"

Rei gently held these hands. "You are in my image, after all. It would make sense _you_ were Nephilim as well. If not born from the same ways I and Kaworu were. But being a Nephilim is not a _bad_ thing, Eliza. We are still human."

"Even Kaworu?"

"Even Kaworu. He is Adam in human form, but that is still _human_ , is it not? As I am Lilith in human form, as _you_ are Evangelion and Unix in human form."

"What of Hiro and Zero Two?"

"They... are a special case. You could debate even to _call_ them Nephilim, as they are not from this world. And yet, they have similar characteristics toward us. One part human, one part something else."

"Is that not the _definition_ of Nephilim?

"It depends on who you ask. More conservative scientists and engineers would classify only those from Adam or Lilith stock as Nephilim. But then you have to account for cases of Nephilim _not_ from this kind of stock. You, Hiro and Zero Two, and... Mari."

"Mari was the one Kaworu found while we were in Rogue-00, correct?"

A solemn nod. "Do... you know what happened to her?"

"Yes. No one told me explicitly. But... I was able to conclude that from a few details."

"...I'm sure not seeing her around would have been one."

"Indeed. And I also looked into it myself."

"Did you feel... anything towards her?"

"I... cannot say I did. Consider I had only met her in that short meeting with _all_ of us. Be that as it may, I still knew _others_ felt rather troubled by what happened."

"Kaworu... that is one of his crosses to bear. As I have mine."

"I can see... you two have been through so much."

"We have been on this Earth many years. You have much more time here, Eliza."

"...Yeah. I do, don't I?"

She merely offered a small smile, settling back down.

"Could me being Nephilim be why I... felt you?"

"Could be. It is a common ability for a Nephilim to sense emotion in others through a particular sense. But... I think it is something other than that."

"Other?"

"...When we became a part of one another, when we reached 400% synchronisation together."

"You left a part of you within me." She concluded.

Nodding, as she looked towards the entry hallway. "As I did Kaworu, as as he did with me."

"Perhaps it was through that link, you knew, Eliza."

"I still find it odd how you two can flow like this." She mused, Kaworu having made his entry _immediately_ synchronising with Rei.

"We have a link, as Rei suggested. And... you two do, as well." Offering his outside perspective, as he sat by Rei's free side. "It may not be as strong as the link between Rei and I, or Hiro and Zero Two, but... it's there. And we can see how it manifested itself tonight."

She could feel it. "I have a lot of people who love me."

"Of course you do, Rei."

A small smile. "I... would not mind staying like this for a while."

"What say you, Eliza?"

"I would never deny Rei _that_."

~~~

Kyoko grumbled, saddened. "I knew she'd react like that."

"They _all_ reacted like that, Kyoko." The Commander flatly stated. "From what Asuka said, she took it _better_ that Kaworu and Rei."

She realised _Rei's_ situation. "Ah God."

"Yeah." Leaning back on the chair. "Kinda reminds me of how they reacted during the _Laserdiscs_."

"That's not a _good_ thing, Misato. But at least the _Laserdiscs_ started off _reasonably_ light on them."

"I dunno. I wouldn't call _anything_ they've been through reasonable."

"Compared to _later_ Laserdisc, then."

"Well, if _this_ is how they react to the _first_ part of this, I'm glad I'm _not_ reading it."

A few more moments of awkward silence.

"Do... do you think we made the right decision in letting them read it?"

"It's _them_. Who else _could_ read it?"

"Even if-"

"Even if it's them... suffering. If it involves them... then they have the right to read it, don't they?"

"That's... fair." She conceded. "I know of the Laserdiscs, and Akagi's told me of _another_ visual work involving them. But... is there anything _else_ involving them? That may be... better?"

She audibly shrugged. "Not really. We're pretty much peak."

"... _Really_?"

"I know, right? Although... one work gets close. Sure, it's still a few hundred miles off the mark from _here_ , but it's a damn sight better than the _other_ material we've had."

Kyoko thought. "Have they... seen that?"

" _Read_ it. And yes. They went through it in about a day. Aida and _his_ birds as well, hell they _found_ it."

" _What_?!"

"Yeah that was Asuka's reaction as well." Noting, amused. "I read through it separate from them, after they made it sound like it was actually... y'know, _good_ on them."

"...Was it?"

"I mean, they didn't end up _dead_."

An unamused look.

"I know, not a high bar to clear. How about this. I get the book to you two tomorrow, and you and Yui can read through it."

"Do you think she'll... like it? I know she can be-"

"You'll be there with her, won't you? You can give her comfort if she collapses."

That choice of words made her suspicious. "What did Ritsuko _tell you_ about our trip to Massachusetts?"

"Everything."

The smuggest of smug smiles grew on her.

As Kyoko's head hit the table, blush creeping up on her. "Scheisse."

"Now now, NERV is quite _libertarian_ when it comes to that. The only real policies we have when it comes to that is, " She started counting, "'Not in front of the security cameras' and 'Not on the old Commander's desk'. Otherwise you get put in the newsletter."

"I wouldn't do it at _work_!"

"You must be one of the few people _at_ NERV to think that." She flatly mused, completely aware of her own... foibles at work.

"Christ, _Germany_ was never like this."

"Amazing what _constantly living under the shadow of annihilation_ does for the drive. Course, it probably doesn't help we have _Lilith_ in our basement."

She could understand _that_ , she supposed. "So you just have a laissez-faire attitude to that?"

"What you do with another consenting person is none of my business, and NERV won't make it our business. Shit, you've _seen_ the pilots, and God knows _I'm_ not much better. You know Ritsuko and Maya's status. Kensuke's status is practically a _tumbleweed_. But as I said, as long as you do it somewhere _private_."

"...Was Japan _always_ like this?"

"You've seen the _Laserdiscs._ It goes back to _Naoko's_ days. It was just more underground." She huffed. "Mainly cause the Commander would use it as _blackmail_ unless it involved _him_."

"And I'm guessing you wouldn't do that to _us_."

"Shit, _everyone_ knows about Kaji and I. Plus, I'm trying my _damnedest_ to make sure _my_ administration is _less_ morally reprehensible than the previous one."

The silence returned, as Kyoko was reminded.

Misato got up, going for the door. "I'll leave you two be. I'll come back tomorrow with that book for you two."

"...Misato?"

"Yeah?"

She still had her blush, but she could at least look at her. "...Danke."

A small, warm smile was offered, and she made her leave.

_"Man könnte meinen, auch sie würde versuchen, euch beide zusammenzubringen."_

("You'd think she was also trying to get you two together.")

"I wouldn't be surprised if she _knew_ the issues with... being alone."

_"Apropos."_

("Speaking of.")

"I suppose I _should_ go to her. Poor thing."

"Sollte?"

(" _Should_?")

"You know I can be timid with this kind of thing.”

She got up. _"Gut, dass ich_ das _nicht bin."_

("Good thing I'm _not_.")

~~~

Another day had passed, and Shinji and Asuka were back in their apartment.

The doujin, now noticeably more messed up; pages missing and torn, a few pages hanging precariously out of the book, even _shreds_ of an indecipherable pages still on the floor near the divot, no one had bothered to clean up.

"...Are you sure you want to continue this, Shinji?"

"Who else will?" Cool. "We didn't stop with the _Laserdiscs_ , did we?"

A melancholic smile, at his determination. "Fair."

Hiro and Zero Two made their presence known, having received the texts an hour ago. "So how will this traumatise us today?"

"Well shit, you can't get much more than _that_. Can you?"

"Thanks for jinxing it, Asuka." Zero Two panned.

"Fuck."

"...Will Rei and Kaworu be joining us today?" Hiro noticed they weren't in the room.

"I did tell them. They said they might be a bit late."

"Not _that_ late." Rei mused, having just walked in.

With two others. "You're letting _Eliza_ in on the trauma as well?"

"Considering the contents of this, we _both_ decided Rei would be needing as much comfort as we could give her."

"I do not know _what_ this work is. But all I know if Rei may be needing _something_ from me."

Rei herself looked rather _bashful_ at this show of affection.

"Considering what happened _last_ time... I can understand." Shinji thought aloud.

"I imagine you will be joining us for the rest of the read, Eliza?"

"I plan on it."

"Well, now we have everyone. Let's get this trauma started." Spoke Asuka, as she flipped to where they last left off.

* * *

#  **2\. Re-Take: Volume 02**

Note: Page numbers refer to the SECOND HALF of VOLUME 01 of the NON-H version (from page 94), roughly corresponding to VOLUME 02 of the H version. 

**Character Key:**

Shinji (S) Asuka (A)

Rei (R) Kaworu (K) Eliza (E)

Hiro (H) Zero Two (Z)

_Hotel_ (Page 94)

A: "Great, _another_ time skip."

R: "That would be a bit of time to take in... _what_ happened."

E: "... _What_ happened?"

The silence pierced her.

E: "I don't want to know anymore."

**(95)**

K: "I wonder who would be _at_ this hotel."

H: "What even _is_ a hotel?"

S: "Knowing _this_ thing." He muttered.

A: "I swear to God, if it's _us_ -"

Z: "Kaworu already threw this work against the wall. I think more abuse would tear it apart."

Eliza craned her head towards the wall.  "What the hell?"

**(96)**

Shinji would've felt embarrassed in literally any other situation, but given the _context_ , he just felt sick again.

H: "I... guess it's a way of dealing with what happened. Falling into your partner like this."

A: "Jeez Shinji, that _really_ rattled you. "

R: "I imagine it would." Flat.

E: "So you were doing what _Misato_ did."

K: "Only I'm certain _her_ context was much more... preferable."

E: "Considering how _Rei_ reacted."

**(97)**

S: "And we're getting thrust back in."

A: "I know we like _that_ , and apparently they do too, but you _know_ when we get called in we kinda have to stop."

Z: "I doubt _this_ kind of... doing it is exactly _healthy_."

K: "Is _any_ of our situations really _healthy_?"

E: "Compared to the _Laserdiscs_ , _yes_."

A: "You could compare a _lot_ of things to the Laserdiscs and they'd be _worse_."

R: "What about _this_ work? I would say so far it has been _worse_ than the Laserdiscs."

E: "I don't even know how that's _possible_."

H: "Oh I'm sure _this_ volume will be as traumatising as the last one."

**(98)**

_Everyone_ gave Hiro the stinkeye, as the _very next page_ had _Arael_. "You just _had_ to jinx it."

_Fifteenth_ (99)

R: "You... have come to terms with it, at least."

K: "We know you are too valuable to the Commander for this to last."

Downtrodden. "I... can only hope I do not remember, then."

Eliza seemed to realise just _what_ happened the volume passed.  "Wait... is _that_ why you felt... so much pain? Rei?"

She gave a single nod. "But... you are correct, in a way. You chose Asuka. And... I simply could not handle that."

S: "...I shouldn't have gone about it _this_ way."

**(100)**

Asuka shook her head. "I knew you wouldn't like that, Shinji."

K: "Considering you know _what_ happened to her." Facing the Klaxosaurs. "Have you... watched this far?"

H: "...The Angel that did... _that_ to Asuka." He shivered.

E: "We watched up to episode 23 today."

R: "...So you would know many things."

A: "We know it was different _here_. But... I doubt there _could_ be that much of a change _this_ time around."

R: "Considering I am... out of action."

**(101)**

Asuka had a melancholic smile. "Of course, you _know_. You idiot."

Z: "And he would _want_ to change what happened."

H: "Even _if_ it'd be hard."

S: "We've done the impossible before."

E: "I don't think _this_ is the kind of work to reward going beyond."

K: "At least the Commander is allowing it."

R: "Considering he probably _knows_. If not Shinji's looping status, certainly his relationship with Asuka."

A: "And that _dog_ is gonna abuse that, I reckon."

R: "He would not be Gendo Ikari if he _did not_ do that."

_Attempt_ (102)

H: "... _Attempt?_ "

R: "A cover story. You have seen such far into the Laserdiscs. So you know my... status."

Z: "...A third."

A singular nod.

K: "As I said. And this would be the obvious cover story."

Shinji sighed. "I suppose this will be my punishment for tormenting Rei like I did."

A: "...You too?"

E: "...Would that mean _everyone_ here was affected by Arael at one point? I know in the Laserdiscs and... here, it was different."

**(103)**

S: "Would an AT-Field... block Arael?"

R: "If it _did_... maybe we would've ended up better off."

K: "Arael... specifically attacked the will of a person. And... if you cannot muster the will..."

E: "No AT-Field."

A: "...You'd be fucked, Shinji."

R: "Of course... we need to consider the fact that we had to _hide_ the truth about ourselves."

Z: "Even if it meant... _that_?"

She was silent.

**(104)**

Asuka sighed. "I knew _I_ wouldn't like this."

H: "Don't tell me _you_ will deploy into Arael's line of fire as well."

S: "That's... kinda what happened here. The roles were mixed around a bit, but..."

Z: "You would _definitely_ not take this lying down, then. Knowing _you_ , and even looking at your _other_ self here."

E: "The image of Arael does not bode well for me, however."

_Destruction (105)_

The gathered probably had to look over the page five or six times.

Asuka slammed her fist on the desk. "Are you fucking _kidding me_?! After the _shit covered glass_ this has dragged us through, _Arael_ goes fucking _perfectly_?!"

K: "Obviously, Shinji _knew_. He knew how this affected _you_. And... he would not allow that."

A: "Why couldn't _we_ do this, though? Arael was one of the _worst_ Angels we all had to face, fuck even _Zeruel_ went better."

R: "I am sure if we _knew_ what happened."

Z: "Do we?"

E: "Perhaps Shinji was able to use Arael's beam against itself. Somehow."

K: "Using his _own_ AT-Field?"

S: "How the hell could it be _my_ AT-Field that did that? That implies my AT-Field not only reached to the _moon_ , it means that far out it was _still_ strong enough to _destroy Arael_."

A: "That's some _Gurren Lagann_ shit right there."

R: "And yet, it could be possible. I doubt it will help your self esteem, however. Knowing Shinji is _this_ strong."

A: "Shit, I'm sure it raises some _major red flags_ from _everyone_ as well."

**(106)**

Eliza analysed the satellite imagery.  "Interesting. _That_ to me looks like a _major_ burst of energy, enough to _pierce_ Arael's AT-Field. Like Ramiel."

Z: "Didn't you _try_ the Positron Rifle in the Laserdiscs?"

A: "Then again, we didn't have the power of _Japan_ behind us when Rei fired against Arael."

R: "At least... this would mean I do not have to be deployed."

H: "But _where_ would this have come from? This is beyond _anything_ in _our_ world."

S: "Normally I would say the same thing of _this_ world as well. But... well, just look."

**(107)**

K: "As we thought. I didn't know you _could_ do this."

R: "Shinji would have had the determination to perform such an action, however. To protect Asuka."

A: "This _is_ Gurren Lagann!"

S: "Maybe if Gurren Lagann was written by _Anno._ "

Z: "You can _do this_ in an Evangelion?"

E: "Not _here_. Of course, considering this is set in _our_ general universe, with our same laws and world. You _could_."

K: "This is essentially an AT-Field _punch_. And... if it had _this_ much power."

R: "Especially if one considers, in _this_ reality, Unit-01 would have _never_ obtained the S2 Organ. This came from _Shinji_."

H: "Jeez, you really _are_ determined to change things this time around."

S: "...Considering I _already_ fucked things up."

**(108)**

E: "Well. Do the impossible, see the invisible."

A: _"Row row, fight the power."_

S: _"Row row, fight the power."_

K: _"Row row, fight the power."_

R: _"Row row, fight the power."_

Hiro and Zero Two simply looked confused at this synchronisation.

Asuka started laughing. "Oh cut us some slack, we gotta get some levity _somewhere_ in this _shitheap_."

K: "Either way, I doubt _anyone_ would be laughing after this Arael. Indeed, it's _less_ problematic compared to even _our_ world."

Z: "Defeating Arael like _this_ would just raise further questions!"

A: "Many of which _I_ would have."

S: "Even though I could probably _never_ say such things to you. How would you react if I told you I was a looper?"

A: "Well, _she_ would probably think you only got with her so as to make things better."

E: "Maybe _that_ is why he cannot tell you."

**(109)**

H: "Quite bold."

Z: "Quite _stupid_ , I reckon. The Commander's probably got eyes and ears _everywhere_."

S: "At least _here_ , I never noticed security cameras in the _lockers_."

K: "I certainly did. At the very least, Misato had them removed so as to give us _some_ privacy."

R: "I imagine you would have destroyed them anyway."

K: "In all likelihood."

E: "Either way, you can see _why_ Shinji would react this way."

A: "Oh hell yeah. _I_ would probably react like this."

_Third_ (110)

Z: "Awkward."

R: "She would not know. I hope. I would not be surprised if the Commander rolled my brain scan back some ways, considering."

K: "Of course, we know the _soul_ persists still."

R: "...Indeed. Though we know there are _some_ things we would rather... forget."

A: "...I think _I'm_ kinda weirded out by it."

S: "Do... you think you'll still _try_ to get to know her?"

A: "Well thing is... I don't think I would've seen her in the month that followed. Maybe I would've heard about her... _'attempt'_ , but... Oh Jesus that would've rattled me, I imagine."

E: "Maybe _that_ is why you reacted as so."

H: "You can tell _Shinji's_ uncomfortable by this all."

R: "Considering... _how_ he found me."

**(111)**

Z: "She's smarter than she looks, Misato."

K: "The UN made her Commander for a reason."

R: "Even here, and especially in the Laserdiscs, she was rather inquisitive. And determined to ensure the survival of humanity."

E: "This still shines through today. Even if she rarely shows it. But Rei, you..."

R: "...Yes. I did not take Shinji's rejection of me well."

H: "...That's a bit of an understatement."

S: "I think Ritsuko gave away a little too much, with that remark."

A: "Well, considering Rei's status."

**(112)**

A: "...She knew?"

K: "She told her, after all."

S: "And yet... "

E: "Mama knows this as well. But... I doubt Misato would have reacted much better."

Z: "It would've looked even _more_ suspicious when, after some time, Rei's suddenly walking around again."

R: "...Considering."

_Aquarium (113)_

H: "What would _Ibuki_ be doing?"

R: "Well... I do not think he and Misato are on the same level as they were _here_ or in the Laserdiscs."

A: "He's still _alive_. In the Laserdiscs he was _shot_ before Arael could attack us."

S: "Speaking of, why is your sync rate _still_ dropping, Asuka?"

Asuka had to think. "...Maybe, subconsciously, I'm thinking since you're much better than _I_ am. I'm no longer needed."

Shinji gave a sigh. "So I screwed up again."

K: "That's always the issue with trying to affect the past. You have to be careful about _many_ things, or in your attempts you will simply make things worse. The road to hell is paved with good intentions."

S: "Different to Wolk, then."

R: "In _that_ work, not only did you have _years_ of experience after the fact, you kept yourselves hidden and did not _egregiously_ change things. As has been done so far."

Shinji huffed. "So I'm trying too hard."

Z: "I imagine _anyone_ would try that, if _that_ happened."

**(114)**

Silence.

Soon broken by a sad sigh from the computer.  "...Ma's taking it hard."

H: "Why would Ritsuko use _drugs_ to accelerate such a thing?"

K: "They did it on _your_ world, did they not? The Yellow Blood Cells. Such thing Ritsuko is planning would be along the same lines as what _APE_ did en masse."

Asuka gave an irritated grunt. "I know Rits got _much_ better after you helped her, Rei, but I'm _still_ wary of the fact she _did_ this."

R: "She would not have had the same epiphany on their world, as she did with _our_ world."

S: "I doubt _you_ would be happy about this as well, Asuka."

A: "If _her_ life was anything like _my_ life, yeah I would probably throw her into the lake."

Z: "...Even so. It's pragmatic. Even in _our_ world, you could understand the _logic_ behind what APE _appeared_ to do."

R: "At the very least, Kaji is here to comfort her."

**(115)**

A: "I don't appear to be taking it well as well."

S: "Considering Evangelion is your _life_ , in the Laserdiscs."

E: "But at least _this_ time around, you have _Shinji_. Perhaps he can provide you with a... soft landing, so to speak."

A: "My Laserdisc self could land on _pillows_ and she'd still shatter into a million pieces."

R: "I doubt _my_ presence would help the matter."

Z: "We know your Laserdisc interaction here was not... savoury."

K: "Such an interaction occurred _before_ Arael, however."

S: "Then again, didn't the _Theatrical_ have a scene like that as well? And that would've been before _Bardiel_."

H: "You guys can't catch a break, can you?"

Asuka gave a knowing look to the very work they were reading.

**(116)**

A: "So much for patching up our relationship."

R: "Not like I would... know the extent of our relation. And... considering I would have _some_ kind of feeling from last time."

K: "Which could influence some kind of unconscious... dislike of her."

Shinji sighed. "Damn it."

**(117)**

A: "...I must say, I'm taking it better than I would've _thought_."

Z: "Seems Shinji is being a good influence on you."

R: "I think that has been well established, by this point."

K: "Even from all the _material_ we have involving the two."

S: "Well, we have _Wolk's_ work, and _this_."

E: "And _this_ world. Which I would say is a _decent example_ on how close your relationship can be."

A: "Even _if_ we're cripplingly dependent on one another to function."

E: "I never said it was a _healthy_ example."

H: "If _that_ was a criteria, I would say we were _all_ exempt."

_Anyone_ (118)

R: "...What am I _doing_? Surely an _actual_ shower would be a better option."

K: "We might have to consider this a side effect of... what happened."

Z: "All the while, she would rather focus on _Shinji_."

A: "Considering she was _jealous_ of Rei in the Laserdiscs."

R: "Which would make sense. I came from Yui Ikari, after all."

Asuka shuddered. "The thought doesn't help my already _hellbound_ opinion of Commander Asshole."

E: " _Will_ you tell her the truth about what happened, however?"

S: "She would _know_ if I didn't."

**(119)**

H: "Then again, if you convinced yourself _no one_ would believe."

S: "And why would they? They'd think I'm insane!"

A: "I think they _already_ think that, Shinji."

S: "The _bad_ kind of insane. At least _this_ kind of insane, I can still operate an Evangelion and at least _try_ to make things better."

E: "Of course, Mama's not stupid. That manifestation is there for a _reason_."

K: "Indeed. I doubt this has convinced her of your sanity."

**(120)**

R: "As we have stated. They are not stupid. Even this small slip of the tongue can tell you _everything_ they would need to know about his current mental state."

S: "Note to self."

Z: "I doubt _you'd_ appreciate that, Asuka."

**(121)**

A: "No, I do _not_ appreciate not being told the full story."

S: "Even _here_ , you don't appreciate that."

E: "And Misato knows this."

H: "Was she trying to _protect_ you from the truth?"

A: "Considering it's _Shinji_ , I wouldn't be surprised. Still, I appreciate being _told_ about such things, especially if it was involving him."

**(122)**

K: "...And that is why she did not want to tell you."

A: "...I mean, I would still _appreciate_ being told this. It's better to know _early_ than late."

Z: "Even _if_ you reacted like... this."

E: "She has barely reacted and you can tell she is not taking this well."

R: "All because Shinji chose to face Arael himself."

S: "I _can_ kinda see how I could be contaminated by Arael. Considering how... _extreme_ my reaction was."

H: "This would be the _consequence_ , then."

A: "So he's gonna... die?"

E: "We still have a _sizeable_ portion of this to go through."

S: "There's still... Armisael."

The silence returned.

**(123)**

A: "At least... they acknowledge I had to know about this."

Z: "I wouldn't be surprised if your relationship was... evident, at this point."

S: "...They're sympathetic about it. That's... good."

_Proposal_ (124)

A: "If anything _were_ to make me depressed."

H: "I wonder if he knows you knows."

S: "I wouldn't be surprised."

R: "Of course, without the insight into your thoughts, one would consider this just standard fare for you two."

E: "Even though there is _obvious_ tension between you two."

Z: "I mean, I think there _would_ be tension, if you were told your _partner_ was gonna _die_."

**(125)**

Asuka laughed at how nonchalant her other was. "Just like _here_ , eh Shin-chan?"

He too held a small smile. "Of course, we weren't under the cloud of my potential _death_."

R: "Not to mention the _legality_ of such a thing."

K: "I'm pretty sure we're old enough if, were we to _want_ to, we would be allowed."

Z: "Didn't stop _us_."

H: "By the looks of it, you _don't_ know she knows, Shinji."

E: "I doubt the Commander will allow such thing as well."

A: "Maybe since he's _dying_ , he'll allow him _some_ kind of happiness for once."

Shinji barked a laugh.

**(126)**

R: "This... is all too true. Even _now_ , we can never be sure how long we will live."

K: "So we live for today. No use waiting for happiness to come your way."

Z: "We know this well. You need to _make it_ for yourself."

S: " _I_ would know this as well. Since I already _experienced_ this."

E: "Did you come from the future, Shinji?"

He gave a nod. "After Leliel."

E: "That... makes sense. Then you _would_ know for sure you did _not_ have a future."

A: "The _other_ Asuka would know this as well. The one in... your head, Shinji."

**(127)**

The look on Asuka's face slowly flattened as she realised her words. "I _knew_ we should've used protection! Gottverdammt!"

K: "To think, this is what would've happened, had you not used protection your, uh, _first time_."

A: "I know I wouldn't be _that_ objected to... _this_ if it happened _now_. But during _then_. That's probably the _worst_ time you could have a child."

S: "Even after _Instrumentality_?"

A: "I mean, _sure_ , the world _ended_. But there were _less_ things out to kill us during our little apocalypse adventure."

Z: "Is this world _really_ that bad?"

R: "The _Laserdisc_ world might as well have been."

**(128)**

They all found themselves taken aback at the scene, this time for a _good_ reason.

S: "...Course. I would not just _abandon_ you like that."

Asuka had a small smile, at this surprisingly heartwarming display. " _What_ is this I _feel_?! This... _warmth_ in my heart!" She mercilessly mocked.

H: "An oddity for this work, isn't it?"

R: " _I_ certainly do not _mind_ this."

**(129)**

K: "By the looks of it, she does not mind as well."

E: "She was just told he was going to _die_ , and he just accepted a _proposal_. I can see how she _wouldn't_ mind."

A: "I sure as hell _wouldn't_. The fact he might _die_ just makes it even _more_ significant."

S: "It definitely _looks_ like you didn't mind." A flat look.

_Invitation_ (130)

A: "Jeez, they're already further ahead than _we_ are."

R: "Considering we are _still_ trying to find an appropriate time. Considering there are _three_ marriages waiting."

Zero Two gave Hiro a significant look.

R: "Make that four."

E: "I mean, we don't really have _too_ much going on."

S: "Considering Asuka wants to get wed in _Germany_. Wouldn't be surprised if Kaworu wanted that as well."

A: "I _want_ to, doesn't necessarily mean I _would_. Considering I couldn't even go down to _Okinawa_ for a school excursion."

Z: "A honeymoon in this Germny, then."

A: "Point still stands." Flat.

H: "Either way, hopefully you _are_ happy. At least as happy as you _could_ be in this situation."

**(131)**

A: "Yeah, no _shit_ she'd know."

E: "She'd probably be the _first_ to know. Even before you yourself."

R: "I can certainly see that."

Z: "I wouldn't call you guys _innocent_. Especially at _this_ point."

H: "Considering what you've seen. Even in just _this_."

K: "Welcome to our lives."

**(132)**

S: "...Man, we're really going all out with this, aren't we?"

Asuka nudged her own fiancee. "You getting some ideas, Shin-chan?"

S: "Maybe..."

**(133)**

K: "It's good to see NERV seems rather _genuine_ when it comes to this."

R: "I imagine many of them know of your status, one way or another."

Z: "Even if the didn't, with all the _shit_ you've been through, fair enough you go get married!"

A: "That's exactly what _we're_ thinking! And that's with what _we've_ been through!"

E: "So fair enough they decide it _this_ early."

S: "Of course, having me _potentially dying_ would help speed things up a bit."

_Bold Move, Shinji (134)_

Asuka gave a whistle. "Now _that's_ a bold move. Lets see if it pays off."

K: "Even inviting your _father_ , after everything you've been through."

S: "Well... he hasn't accepted it _yet_."

E: "Do you think he'll deny you _now_?"

R: "You _do_ have a better relation. Relative to _the Commander_ , that is."

S: "Yeah, relative to _me_ , I still have the _entire Laserdiscs_ in my mind."

**(135)**

A: "Figures."

R: "And yet he understands _why_ you would do such thing."

S: "All the better to _fuck_ me later on."

K: "Which is, in all likelihood, what he will do."

Z: " _Or_ , maybe he sees a part of himself in you."

A: "Forgive us if we only think _negatively_ of Gendo."

E: "Yeah, even from the _Laserdiscs_ , it's hard to like him. And that's _without_ talking with the Magi."

H: "You can _talk_ with the Magi?"

E: "In the way a computer can talk to a computer. _Casper_ likes him. The others... well, let's say I found out _why_ they might _not_ like him while watching the Laserdiscs."

A: "Amazing how this facility even _functioned_ when _two thirds_ of it hated the Commander."

R: "Good thing they require a complete majority."

**(136)**

Shinji gave a small chuckle. "Well. That went well."

R: "He _understands_ , at the very least. Maybe he too thinks you will die."

A: "Of course, this could just be all one big ploy to _destroy_ you. Pull an Anti-Spiral on you."

S: "Maybe if I was _Simon_ , I wouldn't be completely _destroyed_ when shit like that happens."

E: "A _lot_ of things would be improved in this world if it were more akin to _Gurren Lagann_."

H: "Do _we_ have a bit of a comparison to this Gurren Lagann we know of?"

R: "In your reality, starting from the Klaxosaur Princess, but even more so when VIRM reveal themselves."

Z: "...Is it _really_ that much of a clusterfuck?"

A: "From the beginning, pretty much."

Z: "...DAMN, why didn't _we_ get to that world?!"

A: "OI!"

**(137)**

E: "Either way, he accepted it."

S: "I'm not gonna say it. Cause I _know_ if I say he's better this time around, he'll just _fuck_ me over again."

A: "At the very least, you're starting to catch on Shin-chan."

H: "He _does_ seem kinda _genuine_ with this, however."

R: "Of course, it is impossible to tell in fictional medium like this. Even _without_ such abilities as befits a Nephilim, there are minute indicators of one's intentions."

K: "However, we cannot deny his _track record_. Here, and in all other mediums we know of."

Zero Two snorted. "Fair enough. So how will he use _this_ to his advantage?"

A: "Obviously _blackmail_. Shinji loves me, so he _uses_ me to manipulate him."

She made a rather disgusted noise, at the thought on being reduced to but a pawn in his machinations against her partner.

_Cutline_ (138)

S: "And all the while..."

A: "I doubt _any_ of this has helped me. Even _if_ I'm not mentally fucked this time around, just the _thought_ of you potentially _dying_ would..."

H: "But... that's the same as what happened in the Laserdiscs, wasn't it?"

A: "At least in the _Laserdiscs_ , I think we came to the conclusion that, due to how _fucked up_ my mental state became, my Mama stopped me being able to pilot."

E: "Considering _what_ happened, you could _defend_ her action. If it _was_ indeed her that did it, and not some other factor."

R: "Most of what we speculate would be theoretical, after all. At least with the _old_ Unit-00, I had a... working relationship with it."

E: "...I think I had an _idea_ on who was the core of Unit-00."

Rei simply gave her a sad look.

**(139)**

Z: "Seems like _you_ know, as well."

A: "As I would. All too well."

K: "You seem more _accepting_ of this, now."

H: "...You _are_ pregnant, after all. Maybe _that's_ stopping you."

R: "That was how it worked in your world, after all. It is certainly _possible_. We have _already_ managed to transplant an idea from your reality to our _own_."

E: " _Would_ that affect things?"

R: "Interference, perhaps. From the growing soul. I doubt it would be enough to _disable_ a pilot's ability to pilot Evangelion completely, like the original world of you two, but it would not help."

S: "Of course, we've never _had_ to test that theory out for ourselves."

A: "By the _looks_ of it, they seem perfect fine with throwing a _pregnant_ girl in an _Evangelion_."

S: "Maybe my father. _Here_ , Misato would _immediately_ strike you from pilot duties."

R: "Not like that is a _bad_ thing, in that situation."

**(140)**

K: "...Upon further reflection. I might have to redact my statement about you taking it well."

A: "Of _course_ I wouldn't take it well! Not how my _Laserdisc_ self is, even _with_ her not knowing it's my Mama in there."

R: "Subconsciously, you would know."

S: "We _always_ knew that, subconsciously. It was... comfortable, in Unit-01."

Eliza's newly coded Freudian daemon went off.  "Oh good, that's working now."

_Frighten_ (141)

R: "It would have been obvious to _us_. But to the me of the doujin."

K: "If you even had an awareness of the past, at this point."

S: "At least I'm _finally_ saying why. Why didn't I do this earlier?"

A: "Because you were practically damaged beyond repair and you went about it in a self destructive way?"

Z: "Oh so like _everyone_ else."

E: "Is what Kaworu said why you _also_ said what you said?"

R: "I believe so. You _can_ remember things through the soul, it just takes some effort to unlock them, so to speak. A mental backup provides more _immediate_ memory recovery, but often at the cost of feeling... _disconnected_ from such memories."

H: "If those memories were even recovered?"

R: "Indeed. You can only recover what you... well, _backed up_."

E: "A similar concept to a computer, then. I don't think _I've_ had a backup since before the Rogue-00 incursion."

S: "I mean, we _do_ have the facilities for such thing."

Eliza pondered.

**(142)**

S: "I... don't think you're taking it well, Rei."

R: "...I would not. We have already seen _how_ I reacted to such a thing."

K: "A majority of it would be _confusion_ on how he would know your status, I imagine."

H: "At least he's _telling_ you about this. Instead of... what happened before."

Z: "Do... do you _remember_ what happened, then?"

Rei timidly thought. "For _my_ sake, I hope I did not."

E: "I think it evident... you do."

**(143)**

A: "...Even so. There's that disconnect."

R: "All... all my iterations differed in many ways. The fracturing of the soul would do that."

E: "She is the third, after all. As... you are."

R: "I may be the third. But... I have the aspects of my others within me."

H: "You are a complete Rei, then?"

R: "As complete as you _can_ be, in my situation. Either way... I doubt _this_ Rei has that level of... completion."

Shinji sighed. "I suppose you _would_ hate me for that."

**(144)**

A: "... _Or_ , she could just be _cheeky_ about it."

Z: "You even _look_ the part, Rei!"

Rei huffed. "That is... quite the turnaround."

H: "You _still_ like him, regardless of what happened involving you two."

S: "I mean, that's a _pretty significant wedge_ that could be driven between two people."

E: "And yet it hasn't affected her opinion of you."

Z: "You must _really_ like him Rei, jeez."

R: "Perhaps she has come to the same conclusion as _I_ have. That your love is important."

S: "I wouldn't call that a _healthy_ way of coming to terms with our relationship."

A: "Makes _us_ look like Buddhist monks!"

**(145)**

S: "Not exactly a church in Germany, is it?"

A: "Now, I know we're kinda _rushing_ through this marriage but _tomorrow_?!"

K: "Ah, but now we know it _is_ tomorrow, we know that is when an Angel will attack."

A: "Oh _fuck off_."

Z: "At least _Rei_ looks pretty adorable here."

H: "I probably wouldn't call it cutting her a _break_ , but in comparison to _before_."

A: "What, did they decide 'Oh shit, we _really_ fucked her over, let's cut her a _bit_ of slack'."

S: "If there _is_ an Angel attack, then it'll be _Arael_."

A: "Oh _fuck off_."

R: "Maybe _that_ is where they will stop cutting me this slack. I was wondering if I would ever reach a _fourth_."

E: "I'm sure we would _all_ have something to say about that if it happens."

A: "We already have." She pointed to the divot in the wall.

_Pruned_ (146)

H: "Much like _our_ world."

K: "Brutal, but pragmatic. If you cannot _pilot_ , then you're as good as a sitting duck."

A: "At least I _knew_ it was coming. Not that it would _help_ me."

R: " _Shinji_ is there to comfort you, at least."

S: "Hopefully I could comfort you, knowing _this_ work."

E: "I'm sure your mere _presence_ would help."

Z: "You aren't finding out during _Armisael_ , not like that's any consolation."

R: "So it most likely _will_ be me facing Armisael, again." Conceding.

**(147)**

Shinji had a small smile. "Kinda reminds me of you."

A: "Well, it _is_ me."

Z: "You _are_ comforting her, at least. She would _need_ this."

S: "I wouldn't just _leave_ her. _Especially_ knowing what _did_ happen."

**(148)**

A: "...This would be how I react."

K: "Even more so for you. Unit-02 was where your mother was for the longest time."

E: "You have _Shinji_. He can be your shelter, now."

H: "If... you didn't have him."

A: "...I'd probably be bleeding out in a bathtub."

**(149)**

They all gave a few light hearted laughs at the scene.

R: "Not quite asleep." A small smile. "It is good to see you are taking care of her, Shinji."

S: "...As I would."

A: "Even here, I... kinda like that comfort."

Z: "I think we've established at this point we _all_ do."

_Mindgames_ (150)

Shinji sighed. "Of course, _I_ had issues of my own."

R: "It is difficult to tell if this is _actually_ her post Instrumentality self, or if it is merely a mental issue on _your_ part."

A: "Knowing _this_ place, it'll be a combination of _both_."

K: "An interesting conundrum. In all likelihood, this could simply be how the artist decided to show Shinji's own mental issues, when it comes to this."

S: "I mean, I _would_ have some serious issues from _Instrumentality_."

E: "As long as you can identify which is _real_ and which is in your mind."

A: "Weren't most of our problems _caused_ by that?"

Z: "Looks like _you_ understand that, at least."

**(151)**

H: "A rather mature response, actually."

S: "Well... something like that does strange things to your mentality."

A: "It happened in Wolk's book, after all. Pretty similar to what's happening _here_."

R: "It seems _that_ is consistent throughout the universes, at the very least."

K: "And in _contrast_ , you have the Asuka of his _own_ mind."

E: "Compared to Shinji, she seems rather _immature_. No offence."

A: "I doubt that's even _me_ in the first place."

**(152)**

R: " _Very_ much akin to your Wolk counterpart."

S: " _I_ would be like that as well."

Z: "That's quite the fortitude you have, Shinji."

S: "I've made my decision. And you _know_ I can be determined."

K: "If she _is_ indeed an apparition of your mental state, then she would not be able to harm you regardless. Unless you _let_ her harm you."

A: "Which could be _very_ easy to do if you let your own guard down."

**(153)**

E: "Which he has _not_."

K: "Her words seem ominous, however."

A: "I imagine that's just her trying to get under his skin."

R: "As it would be."

_Klaxon_ (154)

A: "WELL WHAT D'YA KNOW!"

S: "Just our luck, eh Asuka?"

K: "This would be... Armisael."

R: "This does not bode well for me."

**(155)**

And they saw it.

R: "You two have seen this Angel, I assume."

Zero Two gave a nod. "The most recent episode we've seen."

H: "And... we know how problematic it was."

R: "...Even here."

A: "Why the fuck are they _still_ planning on deploying _me?!_ I _cannot_ pilot!"

E: "Maybe _that_ is his plan."

A fire lit in her eyes. "I swear to _God_ if _that's_ what he's planning."

**(156)**

Z: "Not even _Misato_ knows why the Commander would do this."

S: "We often didn't know as well."

K: "To move forward his own stratagem. _Everything_ he would do was to do this."

E: "Including this."

**(157)**

A: "At least you're _there_ to protect me. Even _if_ I'm being my bold and brash self."

R: "Am... _I_ being deployed?"

S: "It... looks like it."

R: "...You must protect her."

S: "I... I hope I can."

**(158)**

H: "You have _three_ Evangelion facing, at least."

K: "Armisael... throughout _every_ reality we have seen, has always been defeated in a similar way."

R: "The only Armisael that was _not_ defeated through the self destruction of Unit-00 was defeated when I and Unit-00 merged into one being. A small scale Instrumentality."

A: "And that _still_ ended with your death!"

R: "It was _different_ , at the very least. It did not... affect me as much as a retelling of this reality did. Like the Laserdiscs."

E: "Shinji would _not_ allow you to die the same way."

S: "I've _already_ killed her! If she were to die _again_ , I don't know _what_ I'd do."

R: "I would almost certainly return, if I died again."

_Infection_ (159)

Z: "...You would certainly _try_ , Shinji."

K: "Whether or not it's _effective_... well, we have to continue."

S: "But I don't like where _this_ is going."

H: " _Why_ wouldn't your AT-Field be strengthening _now_?"

**(160)**

R: "I do not think _any_ weapon would affect Armisael."

A: " _Nothing_ we had would've harmed it, other than fucking _self destructing_."

K: "Or the Wolkian strategy."

R: "Which _still_ ended in my demise, mind you."

E: "At least you are _trying_ to attack Armisael. It's more than you could say of the Laserdiscs."

**(161)**

S: "Around this point, I'd be questioning just _what_ I did to Murphy so as to justify _fucking_ me."

A: "In _this_ world, living a good life is reason enough."

K: "Of course, this could be a side effect of _many_ things. Perhaps your oncoming demise, your upcoming marriage with Asuka. It could be a _number_ of things."

Z: "Could even be that _apparition_ of Asuka that comes up sometimes."

E: "Either way. I imagine this will _not_ go well."

R: "It has gone _worse_ than not well. Armisael has _pierced_ the AT-Field."

Shinji sighed. "So... it's _me_?"

**(162)**

A: "...I would not allow it."

R: "But Asuka... that means _you_ will be the one to suffer... Armisael."

K: "And... we know how Armisael was defeated."

Asuka grumbled. "Fucking of _course_ it's me. At least in all the other worlds, yeah I suffered but at least I _lived_."

S: "Was... was _that_ what he wanted?"

Z: "If it was to _break_ you."

**(163)**

Rei's breath quickened. "Why... you, Asuka?"

A: "It's... it's not you. At least." A melancholic huff. "It's... about time someone _else_ dealt with Armisael."

K: "Even _if_... will result in your death."

A: "At the _very_ least. It will be my own decision."

E: "As... was Rei's."

**(164)**

H: "You did not run?"

A: "I probably _couldn't_. My sync would've been low, and the attack would've made it worse."

K: "And... if it meant _Shinji_ would not be hurt."

A: "Yeah... Maybe I _would_ make that decision."

_Reject_ (165)

Z: "This is... rather akin to the Laserdiscs."

K: "Have you... already accepted what may happen, Asuka?"

A: "It's a pattern, isn't it? _Everyone_ that faced Armisael has died."

R: "But I _could_ face Armisael that way and still _persist_. You _cannot_ , Asuka! That was why I was so willing to sacrifice _me_ , because out of _all_ of you I _could_ come back."

S: "If she _does_ die... I don't know _what_ would happen to me."

E: "You would _break_."

**(166)**

The silence was broken by the creaking of the table, as Asuka clenched her hands around it. "It _is_ to break you." Cold.

S: "...I _knew it_." He spat.

Z: "That is what _APE_ would do. They wouldn't even _care_ about the pilots."

A: "Oh I _know_ Commander Asshole _never_ cared for me, that's one of the reasons why he makes my blood _boil_."

**(167)**

E: "If _Bardiel_ caused you to react the way you did."

S: "My mum wouldn't even _stop_ me, I imagine."

K: "We've seen what happens to the world when you _lose_ someone close to you."

A: "I would _hope_ you reduce him to _pâté_."

**(168)**

A: "Oh, so it _is_ me that does it, in the end."

E: "It's not the _Commander_ , at least."

S: "Not that it would help _me_."

E: "Oh Gods no."

R: "At least... it is not the _Commander_ deciding for you."

A: "It _is_ my own decision. And... that's alright. I guess."

K: "A warrior's death."

A: "Makes sense I die in my Evangelion. At least... my mama is there alongside me."

**(169)**

R: "That decision is _Asuka's_. _You_ do not have to die as well."

S: "In _my_ state, I would rather... die _alongside_ her."

Z: "And doom everyone?"

A: "Wouldn't be the _first_ time. Then again, the world is often so _shitty_ that we generally _cheer_ him on, should things get that far."

Z: "You _what_?!"

K: "Do you think _this_ will spur him to destroy this world _again_?"

A: "Considering how debatably _worse_ this has been compared to even the _Theatrical_ , shit I'd probably come down from Heaven above with the Four Horsemen to _assist_ him."

H: "You seem... rather accepting of this, Asuka."

A: "...It's my own decision, after all. As long as Shinji isn't killed by it. I... don't think I would mind."

**(170)**

E: "He certainly _wanted_ to."

Shinji growled. "Damn it."

A: "You out of all people _know_ that would've been stupid."

S: "I _know_ , but... damn it."

A hand rested on him. "It's... pretty shitty, I know. But... in that situation, that's probably how _I_ would want to go out, as well. If... it meant you weren't killed."

S: "Even _if_ would destroy me?"

A: "You would have _others_ , to help you through. Rei and Kaworu would love and protect you, as I do you." A melancholic smile. "No one lives forever, Shin-chan."

S: "...I know."

A: "So... we live for today. As we do."

S: "...Yeah."

Asuka continued holding his hand. "...Let's see how I enter Valhalla."

_Cruel Thesis_ (171)

R: "...Even _here_. I would strive to take care of you."

H: "Even with your... relationship."

S: " _I_ can understand it was your decision. But... I don't think _he_ does."

A: "It _almost_ wasn't my decision. In _that_ case, I would've been _much_ more angry and would've probably thrown this _through_ the window."

Z: "This is... akin to how _we_ ended up here."

K: "Yours, too, was a warrior's death."

A: "Yeah, and look where they ended up." Flat. "Who knows. Maybe I end up in _your_ world after this."

**(172)**

A: "...Oh shit, I forgot about that."

R: "You do not... seem to mind."

A: "Well. It's... I think it's better to _not_ be born in a world like this. Not with the Angels around."

K: "The Commander would've _certainly_ have known about this. And yet he _still_ deployed you."

S: "That just makes it _worse_!"

E: "And yet her decision was still _hers_."

Z: "At this point, I'm wondering if you were _manipulated_ into making that decision."

A: "I mean, it _is_ manipulation. From either Commander Asshole or Armisael themselves. But the point still stands that it was _my_ decision."

H: "I... don't think the command centre would appreciate the Commander's actions, involving this."

**(173)**

R: "Even with Shinji separated from you. You have a part of him within you."

S: "I... would've preferred going out with you, still."

A: " _Someone_ has to stick around on this Earth, Shinji."

**(174)**

The gathered choked up at the image of what could've been.

K: "If things went different."

A: "...Do you really think this world would have given us _that_?"

E: "It's... rather akin to how someone _young_ would view the world."

S: "...We stopped being children long ago, Eliza. This would _not_ happen in our world."

Z: "Even _now_?"

A: "Even now. Not with Evangelion."

R: "...This world may be cruel. But you can still find love within it."

K: "Indeed, we have. Despite everything that has happened."

H: "Even in this work, you found love in a hopeless place."

A: "...And _that_ does not die."

_Witness Me_ (176)

Unit-02 detonated. And Asuka and her unborn child were no more.

She sniffled, clutching Shinji's hand further. "Not... bad. Not bad at all."

S: "A-Asuk-"

She held him closer. "Don't... please. Not yet."

Wide and teary eyed, he looked into her own eyes, betraying her outward emotion. "O-okay..."

Rei could hold out for now. "And... it was this love for him. As... my love was."

**(177)**

S: "...Yeah. I probably _wouldn't_ stop screaming."

H: "I think _anyone_ would react like that."

K: "...If your mental state was problematic _before_."

**(178)**

K: "...Well. My words are accurate, at the very least."

E: "It would not be what you were told."

K: "Far and away from it. And... as it is _me_ , I would have _some_ sense of what happened. Even just from what I've seen _here_ , many of the events happen the same. Stations of the universe. Sometimes there are changes... but more often than not."

Z: "Where do _you_ come into the Laserdiscs, Kaworu? I haven't seen you in them, yet."

K: "The very next episode, from where you left off."

**(180)**

A: "It... was quick. At least."

R: "...That is really the only concession you have in this situation. I only hope this artist has the... decorum _not_ to show you, in this state."

K: "The _Laserdiscs_ had such decency."

**STOP 181**

"...That's me done." Quiet. "I... think I had enough for one day."

Kaworu flipped the page once more. "It is the end of this part either way." A long look at Rei. "I think we _all_ have had enough for one day."

Nods of confirmation around. "We... will make our leave, then."

Hiro and Zero Two quickly scurried out.

"Would... you like us to stay for a bit, Asuka?"

"...I wouldn't mind that."

* * *

##  **3\. Shell**

"...You know something, Zero Two? I don't think this world is as good as it seems."

"It sure seems like that for _them_." She muttered. "What kind of _God_ have they angered to _have_ this happen to them. And yet, this world is _still_ the best one out of them all."

"...Even if it sounds like they've faced _many_ of these themselves."

"Maybe they're like _us_ , darling. They worked their _asses_ off to make this world a better place. For _everyone_. Including _us_." As they walked through this city. "Just imagine what would happen to _us_ if we came around during the _Laserdiscs_."

"We wouldn't be here for long."

She stopped in her tracks, thinking.

And giving a small laugh. "No. We probably _wouldn't_."

So they continued walking, back to the Geofront and their abode. "Do you think the _old_ Commander's NERV would've treated us well?"

"Well, I can think of _two_ things that might've happened. One, he sees our horns and begins _experimenting_ on us, like Franxx did to _me_ ; or he just decides to _end_ us then and there, so as to not get in the way of whatever plan he has."

"Considering what we've _seen_ , that might've been preferable."

They looked up to the orange coloured sky.

"Hey darling?"

"Yeah?"

"Where do you think Asuka ended up when she... died?"

He thought. "We ended up _here_."

Yet another small laugh. "Wouldn't _that_ be confusing. Though then again, I think _we_ are a rather special case, darling. Otherwise everyone _else_ who died would've ended up here."

"What of this... Valhalla she talked about?"

"You don't know of it?" Craning her head. "It's basically an afterlife for warriors, according to some lost culture. A realm where the dead spent their days eating, drinking and fighting, maybe even making love."

"Why didn't we end up there?" He jokingly complained.

Much to her entertainment. "Oh _this_ place isn't _that_ bad, darling. Out of _all_ the similar universes we could've ended up."

He huffed. "That's fair."

~~~

The door opened, and Misato immediately went for the beer upon seeing the four pilots and Eliza bundled up on the couch, watching a _non-Rift_ anime for once.

It was only _after_ she had downed the Kirin that she thought to ask. "So what's the damage today? I don't see _another_ crater in my wall so I _think_ it went well? Maybe?"

"You know Armisael?" Asuka was nursing a bier of her own.

"...Oh shit. I'm sorry, Rei."

"It really _is_ a pattern, isn't it?"

"It... _wasn't_?" She thought, who else could-

The empty can dropped. "A-Asuka?"

She merely gave a nod. "It _was_ my own decision. It almost _wasn't_ , but I managed to self destruct _before_ Commander Asshole did it."

"He _what_?!"

"It certainly didn't help _my_ opinion of him." Shinji grumbled.

"It doesn't help _mine_ , Shinji."

Her ears perked at the familiar sounding theme. "...Are you watching _Ghost in the Shell_?"

"You have a keen mind, Misato." Rei dryly retorted. "It is the weekend, after all. And after the shit that was the _doujin_ , I thought it would be good to take our mind off a few things."

"I don't even _have_ Ghost in the Shell, though."

" _We_ do." Spoke Kaworu. "It's quite the fascinating insight, actually. Almost like they _knew_ what this world may become."

"At least the _shell_ part." Eliza noted.  "Misato? NERV has similar systems to this, don't they?"

"The brain scanning? Ours is a bit more... unrefined than what's in fiction, but yeah. Don't think we've even _used_ it since Armisael, though."

"A part of me wonders if _I_ could use it, to back up myself. Call it a curiosity."

Rei raised an eyebrow, whereas Misato just gave a chuckle. "Well, _I've_ once gone a few years without backing up my own terminal."

"Didn't you lose _everything_?"

Her expression fell flat, just as her point did. "I'm not the one to ask."

"Point taken." As flat in intonation as the Commander was.

~~~

Film over, the remaining Nephilim and Unix system made their leave.

"You want to back yourself up, Eliza?"

"A curiosity, I noted. An old cronjob went off recently, but since I'm... well, _not_ Evangelion over, it failed. Normally, it would've uploaded a backup of my system to the Magi."

Rei gave a small chuckle. "Fair enough. It is an effective system, as you would know."

"One you no longer wished to use, once you had the choice."

"Indeed. Under the... _previous_ Commander. I was given no freedom in deciding whether I would want to... come back."

"You were too important to his plans." She noted.  "But... you would rather... _die_?"

She paused. "I... have come back far too many times for my liking, Eliza. So... I made that decision with the Commanders. If... I were to pass in the line of duty."

"...You would not return."

A long look towards Kaworu. "...I would in _some_ way."

She turned back to Eliza. " _You_ would want to return that way?"

"I would most likely return regardless. My codebase is in the Magi, and I have plenty of backups of my pre-Incursion self."

"Not of _you_ , however. And there is only _one_ Eliza with your _soul_." She poked Eliza's chest. " _You_."

"And yet _you_ returned. Not under your own volition, admittedly, but you did return."

"Yes, you can return people from the dead. But there are always _consequences_ when it comes to this. I know them well, Eliza."

"As you would. I'm not _denying_ that."

Rei paused. "Am... I sounding aggressive, Eliza?"

"I don't think so."

She paused again. "The... the fact that I _was_ backed up like that... meant I was _disposable_. If... I acted out of line, I could just be... terminated. And rolled back to a more... placid, Rei. I do not want _you_ to feel what I-"

A pale finger on her lip, from her virtual doppelgänger.  "Okay, Rei. I won't be disposable."

Her eyes widened.

And she threw her arms around her.

Kaworu simply chuckled at this show. "People would think you _siblings_ , with how many times you hug one another."

"We technically _are_ , fish."

* * *


	3. ReC 03

* * *

## 1\. With Catlike Tread

It was in the dead of night, when Eliza snuck out.

Now, she wasn’t stupid, and having amicable relations with the Magi do go some way in keeping yourself incognito in a facility as sprawling as NERV.

…Probably helped her Mama had _still_ neglected to change her secure passcode. The same one _hard coded_ into the _Eliza_ program _in general_.

Would probably come back to bite her some day, but for now it _helped_ her rather well, snooping around the secrets of NERV.

So the lights turned on, and she was face to face with the grand device.

And her mamas. Sitting on deck chairs. It was quite evident to her they had been there for a short while, judging by the playing cards.

”I knew it was too easy.” She flatly remarked, having been had.

“You know you could’ve _asked_.”

”I wasn’t sure you would allow me. Considering _Rei’s_ reaction.”

Ritsuko shrugged. “If you _wanted_ it, then not like I could deny my daughter. Plus, not like you could use it _alone_.”

“Considering _we_ were the ones to do it to Rei in the first place, as well. Did you think you could use this by yourself?”

"Honestly I didn't even expect to get _this_ far."

"So you came down here to gawk at it."

"You could call it that. I _did_ want to see it for myself. This... machine."

There was a bit of silence.

"...Sorry I was sneaking around, mama..." As she trudged over towards them.

Ritsuko meanwhile got up and messed Eliza's hair, as Maya went to the machine. "We can _understand_ your thinking, Eliza. You want to be able to _protect_ your pilot, and her friends. No matter _what_ happened to you."

"...Not just _Rei._ Everyone else as well. And... she said I wasn't _disposable_ , but it's not like I'm going to throw my life away regardless. I... love living."

"We would _never_ throw you away like that anyway, Eliza." Gentle affirmation. "And not just because you're our daughter. Same with _all_ our pilots."

"But you can see _why_ I would want this kind of... contingency. I... want to protect her, mama. And... if it means _that_."

Her mama knew this thinking well. "It's... how we programmed you, after all." A glance to her other, who simply gave a nod. "Tell you what, Eliza. Let's... keep this between us."

Eliza lit up on her implication. "T-thank you."

A smile. "Also, that hard coded password is a honeypot now. Just thought I'd let you know."

"Would've been nice to know _beforehand_. " Like a child, she gave a small frown to her mama.  "Did the Magi tell you, as well?"

"Melchior."

"Figures."

~~~

Makinami continued to boggle his mind over the recent broadcasts, akin to running into a brick wall over and over again.

It was not like anything he could've anticipated, expecting more of the same 'Soma' broadcasts. It was a full on _cacophony_ of information. He could prove there was _something_. But not much else from that.

What's worse, perhaps his engineers were a bit too _overzealous_ in their usage of the now ancient probe. 158 watts was not a lot to go around, and that was with them _new_.

So while Hawthorne were busy trying to get communications back, _he_ was trying to figure _what_ this information could mean.

At least he _was_ , until now familiar arms wrapped around him. "A new conspiracy?"

A small smile, as he relaxed slightly. "I'm trying to figure out if it's still the _old_ conspiracy."

"...Are _they still_ here?" Somewhat timid, which he thought completely understandable, considering.

"It seems that way." He sighed. "Don't know who _else_ could do this."

"There's _no one_. Is there?"

"You have a keen mind, Claire." Flat. "Of course, you could blame _everything_ on them."

"...They've _done_ everything."

He chuckled, half heartedly. "Either way. Not much for me to work on here."

"Seems like a few things." His partner started looking through all the probably classified information, as she would. "So they're in space, we know _that_ much."

"Space is a big place, after all. It took a few days for Tokyo-3 to get to the _moon_ and back, and that's _with_ rushing it _and_ with my resources."

"Attacking is out of the question, then. We can't do what we did with Sovereign again, can we?"

"Unless they send a Rogue _One_. And with how bad Rogue-00 went."

"Thing is, Spen, after the complete _failure_ that was Rogue-00, I doubt they _will_. Surely they would've used a _lot_ of resources building it."

An image from his file. "Not to mention all their facilities are... pretty _sapped_ right now."

Said image was of the lethal lava land known as _Mars_ , courtesy of a telescope he requisitioned from Kaji without his knowledge, who _himself_ requisitioned it from the US Government without _their_ knowledge, so in a way it was fair turnabout.

His other thought. "Do... you think there'd be any intel _here_ about what they _could_ be up to?"

"Well... there _was_ that raid we did on Kiel a while back. We found some documents and storage media by God you're a _genius_ Claire!"

A glance to the floor, bashful. "T-thanks Spen."

He started going through all the files he had in their board. Even _if_ this wasn't the complete _archive_ of information he normally had over west, he _still_ carried a veritable _library_ of such information with him. "Have I even told you much about the raid we did?"

"Uhh... I think you told me a _bit_ of it over the phone, but then... y'know. Incursion."

A few nods of acknowledgement. "Well. Let me regale you."

So he did.

"You _what_?!"

_'Oh yeah, maybe_ that's _why I didn't regale you at the time.'_ He wisely _thought_. "While most of the information was given to _NERV_ , and I don't know _what_ became of it after Rogue-00, I managed to get _one_ thing out of there." In his hand, it didn't look too impressive.

"Is that a _memory card_? Like what those upmarket cameras have?"

"Precisely."

"...Do we have a way to read it?"

"No."

Awkward silence.

"Damn it."

A small giggle from his other. "You reckon you could _requisition_ something from Massachusetts?"

"It's probably more worth my while to just _jerry rig_ this to work with my terminal."

~~~

Weekends were _usually_ for sleeping in. At least for the pilots, who weren't required to attend the otherwise mandatory Saturday classes. A fact which Kensuke often derided.

But instead of doing something productive and non traumatising, like school or sleep, they decided to get their daily dose of trauma nice and early by reading through yet _another_ chapter of this work.

At least once everyone actually _got_ to Shinji and Asuka's. The residents of the Geofront tended to take their sweet time.

"I don't know _how_ this will make things worse for _us_." Asuka muttered. "But I know they _will_."

"You cannot get much worse than _death_ , Asuka." Rei noted, being experienced in the matter.

"Coming _back_ could be a fate worse than death."

"That ultimately depends on several aspects. _Here_ , I did not mind returning from the dead. I am sure I _would_ mind returning in the Laserdisc or Doujin situation."

"You _did_ mind, if I recall." Noted Shinji.

"Fair enough, would _you_ want to live in a world like the Laserdiscs?"

"I'd say even the _Laserdisc_ world was better than the Doujin." Shinji thought of something. "Actually, do we know _who_ made this?"

Kaworu gave a curious hum, seeking through what had been read. "One Studio Kimigabuchi."

"Ohhh, so it's a _collective_ of hikikomori." Asuka spat. "I _would_ bet 1000 yen on the fact they drew porn, if not for the fact we already _know they drew porn of us_!"

"I do not think they like us too much." Rei stated the obvious. "Of course, this is just one of many scenarios that _could_ have been. So we cannot blame them _too_ much."

"How _does_ these works of us even... _exist_ , then? Since if it _did_ happen, they would have to _know_ , surely?"

"A fascinating question, Shinji. You could theorise a few scenarios, in that regard. One, perhaps imagination itself is influenced by the rivers of time. Inspiration for your work comes from the endless expanses of reality."

"That implies _everything_ fiction is _real_."

"Who's to say it _isn't_?" The fish noted. "Even in our _own_ exploration of reality, for all our power we have been limited to our own _collective_ universe. It would take _trillions_ of lifetimes to exhaust even a _fraction_ of what could be."

"Well _that's_ horrifying to think about." Spoke Shinji. "What of the... other scenario?"

"Two, the pen summons the universe."

It took a bit for them to interpret what that could mean, but once they _did..._

"That's even _worse_! That implies we are merely _dolls_ , under the whims of whoever decided to _will us into existence_!"

"Who's to say it isn't?" He repeated.

"Such a scenario implies free will is _nonexistent_ , however."

"Which is a whole _other_ can of worms. Even in religion. For if God has laid out a path for you, do you _truly_ have free will to do what you please?"

"I never really got that, _why_ would God _want_ you to go off his own path?"

"Hence the counter-argument, that free will _is_ a thing. Liken God to a _watchmaker_ , if you will. He will build it, He will set it in motion, but whatever _else_ it does is ultimately not up to _Him_. It is the _watch_."

"Even though a watch is meant to work... well, _exactly_ like a watch." Shinji pointed out.

"Every watch is different, Shinji. Even if you use the same blueprint, there are always imperfections. Some lose time faster than others, some gain time. Some are fragile, and some could withstand even the strongest of forces. Surroundings may also influence these aspects."

"As is with humanity as a whole. No two individuals follow the exact same path to their destination. Such is the natural order of life."

"Oi!" A voice called out, from the entry hall. "Are you philosophising? We would've come _earlier_ if we knew you were!"

A sudden look to the hall revealed Zero Two and Hiro, 002 waving at them while 016 gave a small chuckle at her partner's elation. "As long as you didn't start without _us_."

"I think that was the _point_ of our philosophising, Hiro." Rei pointed out, before raising an eyebrow. "Did Eliza not wish to join us today?"

"I dunno, I couldn't even so much as _find_ her." Shrugging, as the pinkette sat down. "Eventually I had to call the _Subcommander_ , and she pretty much said she was busy with 'NERV business', whatever that means."

The eyebrow stayed up. _'Do you think she-'_

_'It would be her own decision, to do such a thing. Are we one to stop her, if that's what she wanted?'_

She had to think about that. _'No. You have a point, fish.'_

_'I'm pretty sure that's what we were just_ discussing _, Rei.'_ In mental deadpan.

To her amusement. "She is fine, you two. Do not worry yourself over her."

"But I suppose that _does_ mean she'll _miss_ this."

"Is that really a _bad_ thing, Shinji? _Considering_."

"Y'know something? Probably _not_."

* * *

# 2\. Re-Take: Volume 03

Note: Page numbers refer to the FIRST THIRD of VOLUME 02 of the NON-H version, roughly corresponding to VOLUME 03 of the H version. 

**Character Key:**

Shinji (S) Asuka (A)

Rei (R) Kaworu (K)

Hiro (H) Zero Two (Z)

_1st Cranial_ (Page 5)

A: "Jesus, even having to be _restrained_."

S: "Knowing _myself_ , I would've tried to _strangle_ my father."

Z: "I think _anyone_ would, in your situation. Hell, most of the _staff_ probably want to strangle him."

K: "Of course, the former Commander knew you would try this. Hence the restraints."

R: "The mental instability would not help at all."

S: "I can't believe it. My mental state is even _more_ fucked than the Laserdiscs."

**(6)**

A: "...I know that. Sometimes you just get so upset that you _can't_ cry. You just shut down."

H: "That's... the wedding invitation."

K: "February 14. Still before the date of Third Impact, as was listed in this universe. Sub-universe?"

R: " _Branch_. If all the universes are of the same tree, then anything offshoot would be a branch."

S: "Can we just _snap_ this branch from existence, please?"

Z: "I don't think you'll get off _that_ easy."

A: "Shit, I'm surprised Shinji _hasn't_ ended the world. Yet."

S: "I doubt I've been in my Evangelion since then. That's the only way I _could_ end the world."

H: "Y'know, we gawked at you _ending the world_ , but now I can kinda see your point."

**(7)**

R: "Exactly as you stated, Asuka."

Shinji sighed. "And they know."

A: "It _is_ kinda obvious, Shinji. At least _Rei_ is trying to make good on that promise."

K: "Of course, whether it will bear fruit or not is a question in of itself."

Z: "You _think_ it will? With how _fucked_ Shinji is, no offence?"

S: "Oh I _know_ he's completely fucked mentally." Grumbling. "And this is what my father would've wanted."

K: "It would certainly make you more _open_ to his suggestions. You are in his exact shoes."

S: "...Oh _shit_. I am, am I?"

**(8)**

H: "...Newspaper?"

A: "Do you know what they are?"

H: "I mean... I can assume from the _name_."

R: "Reminds me of _Simon_."

S: "Except, instead of _rocks_ , it's... newspaper."

Z: "It... doesn't look like he appreciates your company, Rei."

R: "I... doubt he would, at this point in time. Considering..."

**(9)**

K: "One must consider, his entire interpretation of the world might've changed, in that event."

S: "Great. I'm mad."

Rei sighed. "At least I tried, for you, Asuka."

A: "I doubt you'd give up _now_."

H: "Hey, Kaworu? Aren't you coming in soon?"

K: "I wouldn't be surprised. And I imagine Shinji will... no. He wouldn't. Like Rei, he knows _my_ status. He would not want to connect with me."

R: "Akin to Wolk's work."

K: "If it's like _Wolk's_ work, then I will play my cards early. I might do so regardless, as I _know_ the scenario has changed. Have you two seen the rest of the Laserdiscs?"

Zero Two shook her head. "We kinda didn't."

A huff. "You may be confused, then."

H: "As usual."

_Fifth Children_ (10)

S: "Y'know something? At this point I'd _gladly_ accept death."

A: "You're being _very_ candid with someone who could _definitely_ kill you."

K: "It _does_ seem rather... suicidal of me."

R: "Then again, we know _here_ I was able to develop such ability. _There_ , well, the scenario is different."

Z: "I'm sure your _protectiveness_ of him is the same throughout _any_ branch."

**(11)**

Kaworu huffed. "I see they know full well of my status."

H: "Was... that the same _here_?"

K: "Essentially. Except... well, the fact I am here _today_ means I was able to break free of this."

A: "Unit-02 isn't the _only_ Evangelion. There's still _Unit-00_ and Unit-01 you could hijack."

R: "He does have a point. Tokyo-3 was designed as a trap for _Angels_."

K: "And I was well within the spider's web."

Z: "Why would SEELE want _Shinji_?"

S: "As... _he_ said. They feel since I'm... _broken_ , I'm _useless_."

K: "Ah, but the _Commander_ has a plan for you, still."

R: "Unit-01 was _key_ to his own plan. In return so would the _pilot_."

S: "At this point, I'd accept death with open arms. After how I tried to make things _better_ , only to just fuck them up _harder_."

K: "I doubt I will simply _kill_ you outright."

**(12)**

Shinji simply growled.

A: "Manipulated into making it my _own_ decision. I mean, _that's_ kinda bullshit."

R: "Armisael would have killed _one_ of us."

K: "But indeed, this was made to _his_ advantage. To make you more... pliable."

H: "Then again, you kinda _handed_ this information to him on a silver platter."

S: " _Here_ , we tried our _damndest_ to keep it _hidden_ from NERV. Even _then_."

A: "I guess it's a _good_ thing SEELE made things go to shit _before_ Commander Asshole could try to blackmail us."

_Alive_ (13)

A: "WAIT _WHAT_?!?!? HOW THE _FUCK_ AM I-" She thought, glancing on Rei's rather horrified face. "A-Am I... Rei?"

R: "...That would be the _only_ way you are alive, at this point."

K: "Whether you could even _call_ it living, at this point. It depends how the soul was, when it was recovered."

S: "I don't think _he_ would mind."

A: "But why the fuck would he clone _me?_ I _never_ really fit into his plan, that fucking asshole can't even leave me _dead_!"

Z: "So you can't even _die_ in this world and be safe?"

S: "You guys _got_ here through death, so yeah."

**(14)**

A: "...Holy shit I _am_ alive. How the _fuck_..?"

S: "...If my father wanted to have me... _pliable_ , he wouldn't... revive you."

K: "Ah. A dream, then."

H: "Great to hear this optimism, guys."

R: " _Considering_."

S: "I'm sure if reality wanted to _really_ fuck me."

K: "It _would_ fit this tone. I imagine this could be just a part of the various mental issues that would _come_ with your partner _dying_."

Z: "So you guys have _already_ given up on her being alive."

A: "It wouldn't even be _nice_ at this point if I _was_. Sure, I'd get to be with Shinji for a bit longer, but _SEELE_ are well on their way to the endgame."

**(15)**

Z: "...You're with Shinji _now_."

A: "But... that doesn't make sense, from what _we_ know. Even with _Rei_ living, the only reason she _lived_ was cause Commander Asshole had _copies_ of her."

R: "In addition to a bespoke device, used to _recover_ souls. Thus allowing me to... persist."

K: "They've also _terminated_ her pilot status. If she was to come back as _Rei_ did, they would not do this."

H: "So what, we just _wait_ until it screws you over, Shinji?"

S: "We haven't _had_ to wait." Grumbling. "It's almost always _me_ , isn't it?"

A: "Give me _some_ credit, I had to go through some shit in _all_ of them as well."

R: "In addition to _me_. Not many people come back from _death_ , after all."

K: "I was _meant_ to die. And judging from _all_ the other worlds involving us we've seen, me actually _breaking_ from this pattern appears to be the _exception_."

Z: "What the _fuck_ , why does the universe _hate_ you all so much?"

They all shrugged. "That's how it goes, for us. We're used to it."

A: "We've developed a habit of telling the universe to _shove it_."

**(16)**

A: "...Then again, that _could_ -" She stopped herself. "No. I'm _not_ setting myself up for disappointment."

R: "It _is_ feasible, admittedly. Shinji was recovered through similar circumstances, in the Laserdiscs. Even _here_ , the situation with _Hikari_ was a similar scenario, if not a similar _solution_."

K: "And it _would_ be a rather nice thought. Your mother actually _protecting_ you from death."

H: "It sure _seems_ like things have gone well. Well enough, at least."

S: "You don't get free lunches. _If_ she was brought back, then the _reasoning_ for it..."

A grim look on Asuka's face. "Lets just say, if they brought me back from _this_ , then I'd probably prefer _death_."

**(17)**

Z: "I dunno, it sure _looks_ like things have gone alright."

A: "This goes _against_ what Commander Asshole said! If _I_ was back like _this_ , Shinji would not have a _reason_ to follow him."

R: "It _is_ rather illogical, is it not?"

K: "Hence our conclusion this is a mere dream."

S: "And knowing my _father_ , he would not even _care_ if Asuka died."

H: "At least the _others_ cared."

A: "I'd say the _bridge bunnies_ cared more for us than Commander Asshole _ever_ did."

_Home_ (18)

A: "Y'know? I'm _trying_ not to set myself up for disappointment, cause I _know_ this is gonna completely _screw_ us. But..."

R: "With a sight like _this_ , it is difficult."

A: "...Yeah. I mean, I would _like_ this."

K: "Your words might have very well held true. Knowing the Commander."

S: "They _did_ hold true."

A: "...Still _is_ kinda true. Though at least _here_ , our chances of dying are more or less _even_. Maybe excepting _you two_."

R: "The Solenoid _does_ help your chances of living through most things, true."

Z: "Hell, we _already died_. And _we_ ended up alright."

R: "I would say you two handled death better than _anyone_."

H: "I mean, as far as we know _you_ are the only one who _has_ had to deal with it."

A: "Still... my point stands. We've _always_ been riding the edge of the abyss. And... when you have to seriously consider the possibility you _could_ be dead this time tomorrow... well. You live for today." A longing look towards Shinji. "We're _still_ like that. Aren't we?"

S: "We... _still_ could die anytime. We're still pilots, after all."

Z: "...Same with _us_. And look how _that_ ended up."

R: "...Perhaps _that_ is what you are planning, in this page."

**(19)**

Asuka gave a huff. "Yeah, I'm not surprised I _would_ want to fuck my brains out, after that."

S: "Much like _this_ world." He noted.

R: "Except that is usually _near_ death. Not... _death_."

K: "Still. This is rather accurate."

H: "How... do _you_ know it's accurate for them?"

R: "Trust us. We know." A small smirk.

Z: "Ohhhh. She's a _screamer_."

Three heads thudded on the desk, as the Nephilim laughed their asses off. "We did not mean it _that_ way."

**(20)**

A: "This is _not_ helping our case." Her head was still buried in the desk, having only given a cursory glance to the page.

Z: "I see _you_ know what you want, Asuka."

A: "Not. Helping."

R: "To be fair, I would call showing Shinji... _that_ , quite a deliberate _bait_."

S: "It _still_ baits me. It'd bait _anyone_."

A: "Not _these_ guys." Pointing to Hiro and Kaworu, who were busy studying the divot in the wall.

H: "It's _bait_ , but in the sense if I was caught _looking_ at it, Zero Two would throw me through the window."

Z: "Not a _window,_ I care about you too much darling." A caring tone. "A _wall_ would carry an equivalent message anyway, without the risk of any glass cutting you."

R: "I see you are _learning_ from us."

**(21)**

R: "Oh my~"

A: "Starting to get a _bit_ too lewd for what I'd like." Disgruntled. " _Non_ -H, don't make me laugh."

Z: "So _this_ is what you do in the bedroom."

A thud on the desk.

K: "Can we look yet?"

R: "No."

S: "Though... you're not _usually_ this rough."

A: "Well, there's a few reasons _why_ I may be this rough. Like _death._ I'm sure death wouldn't help."

R: "In _this_ case, it would be _near_ death."

A: "It _is_ like us, then!"

**(22)**

An eyebrow went up. "Oh, I'm _stopping_? Did I finally catch my wits?'

S: " _That's_ a rarity." He muttered.

A: "Oi!"

H: "This is a rather interesting wall, isn't it Kaworu."

K: "Yes, yes, very interesting. Take your time you guys."

Z: "Imagine, if this _was_ the H version, you guys would have to pretty much _leave_ the apartment whenever this happened."

K: "I don't doubt it."

_Convenience_ (23)

A: "I FUCKING _KNEW_ IT!" Slamming her fist on the table. "It _was_ too good to be true!"

The two men looking at the wall immediately jerked their heads back to the work, her exclamation indicating the lewd scene was over. Or more accurately, the lewd scene _crashed off a cliff_. "As we expected, then."

R: "As Asuka would most likely say, the universe _fucks_ us whenever it can. Why would it suddenly cut you two a break?"

H: "And you completely _expect_ it at this point. This _God_ must _hate_ you, then."

A: "Oh I don't doubt that _one_ bit. I'm _still_ angry at him for what happened to my mama."

S: "The worst thing _about_ this is, it was _feasible_. Considering _I_ came back from a core in the Laserdiscs. Hell, _Hikari_ came back from a core _here_."

K: "All the better to completely _crush_ you. Only, this time around, it was your own mind self destructing itself."

Shinji sighed. "Damn it."

**(24)**

Z: "Why would this apparition of you _want_ Shinji to be... like that?"

K: "We aren't exactly foreign to mental disorder. I wouldn't be surprised if his post-Instrumentality mind was even _more_ damaged."

S: "I mean, it would _come_ with Instrumentality, wouldn't it?"

R: "Of course, one must consider the possibility that _this_ Asuka... could _not_ be explained by a simple..." A grimace at her choice of words. " _Relatively_ simple mental disorder."

A: "Wait, do you think that _is_ me? At least my _post-Instrumentality_ self?"

R: "It is a possibility. We know for a fact someone can carry _multiple_ souls, not just their own. Your mothers themselves are examples of this."

S: "So... I carry the soul of the Asuka from my _first_ loop, who I carried _back_ due to whatever method of actually _going back_ happened, and now she's terrorising me because she hates my guts because of what happened in the Laserdiscs?"

R: "To put it simply."

He shrugged. "Makes sense."

H: "No it doesn't!"

A: "You haven't lived here long enough."

**(25)**

Zero Two and Hiro continued to try wrapping their brains around the theory they came up with.

A: "Still... it's pretty fucked how it came to _this_."

S: "Goes to show my mental state, doesn't it?"

K: "I think I've seen a pattern. The _first_ volume screwed _Rei._ The _second_ volume screwed _Asuka._ And _now_ , it'll screw _you_ , Shinji."

A: "See, that pattern is all well and good. If Shinji wasn't _also_ fucked over for the _past two volumes_."

R: "Therefore, this will screw Shinji over _more_."

S: "Thing is, I can _see_ things going this way."

Z: "No _wonder_ you guys aren't optimistic about this stuff."

A: "We have our reasons, as you've seen."

_I Feel Sick_ (26)

There was disquiet at the scene.

A: "...Damn it. I should've expected you get riled up like this."

R: "In _his_ mind, you ripped away something that would make him happy. Even if it _was_ a dream."

Z: "Not to mention the fact that _this_ Asuka has been consistently _fucking_ with you from the beginning. Makes sense you snap."

S: "I doubt I even _see_ her as Asuka. Merely a figment."

K: "A figment you can put in a stranglehold."

H: "...Perhaps it's not _just_ a figment, then."

R: "As we had suggested, then."

**(28)**

The unease only got worse. "...Man, he's really going at it."

S: "As... I would be. I've... had enough. She pushed me too hard, and... in my state."

A: "...Thing is, we _know_ this is a thing that can happen from the _Laserdiscs_."

R: "One could say it was an apparition of you that pushed Shinji to _cause_ Instrumentality."

K: "History is repeating itself, then."

R: "Indeed it is. Perhaps this apparition of you should have known he could do this. If it even _is_ you, and not merely his mind."

**(29)**

A: "Even like _this_ , she finds a way to _torment_ you."

R: "If we consider she is the you of the Laserdiscs, at the _end_ of the Laserdiscs. Then you _could_ interpret many of Shinji's actions and inactions as... that."

S: "...Even doing the same actions _as_ the Laserdiscs..."

H: "See, we still haven't _seen_ the end of the Laserdiscs."

K: "This will be very... _interesting_ for you, then. I was going to say _fun_."

Z: "Gee, can't wait."

**(30)**

A: "That's... not the _other_ Asuka."

K: "Yet another way to torment Shinji. He would _never_ lay his hands on _her_."

Z: "Are we considering both Asuka's seperate entities?"

R: "That would be for the best, as both Asuka's are essentially _separate_."

H: "Which Asuka is the _real_ Asuka, though?"

R: "Both. The Asuka of Shinji's mind is Asuka as she was _after_ Instrumentality. The other Asuka is the Asuka of the Laserdiscs, influenced by the looping Shinji."

S: "Yeah, to _death_."

Z: "Maybe _that_ is what this page is trying to say."

They had to look over the imagery again, on her behest. "I... can certainly see that."

**(31)**

A: "Oh God..."

S: "And my suffering continues." A long sigh. "Thing is... I can see _myself_ reacting like this."

H: "Even _here_?"

Shinji simply nodded.

R: "He had lost someone close. Someone he had given _everything_ to. As here. And... now that is gone."

K: "It makes sense, then, why he would react in such a way."

Z: "...And all to make him more compliant to his father. I thought _Franxx_ was bad but _shit_."

A: "You can understand our cynical and pragmatic view on reality, then. The only out we even really _have_ is with our partners and friends."

R: "And _this_ world is the _best_ scenario for us, we have found out. Every other world, at least _one_ of us ends up dead."

K: "Worst case scenario: the world as we know it ends up _ending_. Even in the so far _best_ scenario we have witnessed thus far, it was partially set _after_ the world had ended. And it took careful manoeuvring from a much more mature Shinji and Asuka to set the world on the right track."

A: "Even _here_ , we had to walk with catlike tread, so as to not get fucking _murdered_."

**(32)**

Shinji sighed, for what seemed like the 12th time today. "I don't think I'd mind that _too_ much, at this point."

_Enter the Fish_ (33)

H: "It's... understandable why you would run away. You want _nothing_ to do with this anymore."

S: "Not like I _can_ run. They'll always find me eventually."

A: "And you've _tried_ it, Shinji. You'd know."

Z: " _We_ tried that as well. Didn't end too well."

K: "And yet, that was the seed of your friendship."

**(34)**

R: "Well. That was resolved rather quickly."

K: "And here I make my entrance. Seems like you didn't mind I wanted to kill Shinji." He dryly remarked.

R: "For one, I could kill you just as easily; and two, I doubt he would _mind_ at this point."

S: "I wouldn't." Flat. "And I doubt I'll even _try_ connecting with you, Kaworu, cause I _know_. Like in Wolk's work."

A: "You seem rather _friendly_ so far, Shin-chan."

Z: "Maybe you _are_ trying to connect with him, then. How was your relationship like in the Laserdiscs?"

S: "He was the first person to say he loved me."

Z: "Well no _wonder_ you're so friendly with him."

H: "Though what happened _next_? The way you make it _sound-_ "

K: "He had to kill me."

Zero Two had pursed lips. "That _would_ put a damper on your relationship."

Rei gave a small giggle at the unexpected reference.

**(35)**

S: "They're right. How the hell _can_ I still pilot?"

K: "Maybe my presence helped you, in some way."

A: "Considering Shinji has... well, I would _say_ no one, but _Rei's_ still there."

S: "I pretty much pushed her as _far away from me_ as I could, though."

R: "And yet I am _still_ trying. It is still whether or not _you_ want me."

H: "From what we've _seen_."

Z: "Are they seriously gonna deploy you like _that_? In _my_ world-"

A: "You have literal _farms_ of pilots. _Here_ , we don't have that kind of luxury. Shit, in _this_ they deployed me when I was supposed to have _zero_ sync."

Z: "Yeah, and _that_ went well."

S: "Plus, I think we established in this you only have to... _push_ me in a certain direction, to get results."

_Fish Dinner_ (36)

They gawked at the imagery, and especially at the shocked look of Kaworu. "I... didn't expect this?"

R: "Does he plan on... _ending_ you?"

K: "I would not be surprised. I _am_ the seventeenth, after all."

S: "So it's _me_ doing the betrayal this time around?"

A: "You probably see it as _revenge_."

Z: "Well _this_ escalated quickly. Not just a _stampede_ as well."

K: "Shinji knows full well what he's doing." Conceding. "No one else but SEELE and the Commanders would, however. This would be seen as cold."

**(37)**

K: "And yet... he did not go for the kill. At least _immediately_."

S: "I... would _still_ have those feelings for you, I imagine. Even _if..._ "

A: "Even _if_ you want to tear him to shreds."

K: "It would be difficult _not_ to justify such action. But only if you _knew_."

R: "I am _certain_ SEELE would not like this."

A: "Not like they would even _care_. Kaworu was _always_ meant to fail, weren't ya?"

K: "Indeed. Whether I made my play and was disposed by the Evangelion, or they grew impatient and took to the rifle."

H: "Obviously that didn't happen _here_."

Z: "I think that's rather _evident_ , darling."

**(38)**

The roundtable grimaced at the thought.

K: "An odd strategy, but one with precedence. In the Laserdiscs, the Solenoid was obtained via Zeruel."

H: "So _here..?_ "

K: "I do not think he will stop."

Z: "Or you will _stop_ him?"

Shaking his head. "I _could_. But someone else _will_ stop me regardless."

A: "You seem rather fine with being _eaten alive_ , Kaworu."

K: "It would be rather instantaneous, at the very least. It's not the _worst_ death I could think of. Or even _recall_. One of the most prominent echos of time _are_ of my demises."

S: "What _is_ the worst you can think of?"

He had to think. "You know near the end of Return of the Jedi, where the Emperor used his lightning attack on Luke? Pretty much _that_. Except _worse_."

A: "... _What_? How does that even _work_?"

K: "Such information has been lost to rivers of time. I cannot even recall _who_ it was."

S: "Knowing _our_ luck, it'll show up one day."

K: "I... would rather _not_."

Zero Two had a look of horror _and_ confusion on her.

**(39)**

H: "You would _what_?!"

A: "Yeah, this is normal for Shinji."

S: "You _support_ me whenever I end a world that _fucked_ us."

K: "And yet, my words ring true. You would go to such lengths to get _any_ of us back. Even if it meant casting the remainder to the fire."

S: "Like father, like son." He mocked. "I know full well I can do that."

Z: "And you guys don't _mind_ that he could _end the world_."

R: "We generally give him a pass if the world was less than kind to us."

A: "Which is pretty much _all_ the time. I think the only time we _weren't_ open to him ending one of these worlds was _Wolk's_ work."

K: "What an achievement."

H: "I'm guessing _here_ as well?"

A: "Oh, yeah. Here is fine too, I guess." Deliberately flippant.

H: "That doesn't instill me with much confidence."

**(40)**

Kaworu bowed his head. "If ones soul has nothing but _one_ feeling, then it _would_ be pure."

S: "...I'm not surprised Asuka was the only one keeping me tethered to reality. Kinda like _here_."

A: "At least _here_ , you have _others_ tethering you to the ground so you don't fly off into the sun, should I happen to snap." A look towards Rei and Kaworu.

H: "I think it rather _evident_ in the doujin, he lacked such _other_ tethers."

R: "...You died _again_?" She sounded less saddened and more _irritated_.

K: "Disappointing, is it not? I don't think I even lasted a _day_."

A: "Well: you met Shinji, he asked you to see his sync test, and then he _ate you_. I don't even think it's _lunchtime_!"

Z: "Was _that_ why he ate you?"

Despite the morbid nature of the joke and _everything_ , they laughed.

K: "I would say this is a new _record_. For how long I lasted, once I met Shinji."

A: "Rather, how long you _didn't_ last. Cause I'm sure _you_ completely blew _every other you_ out of the water."

H: "Man, you guys are dark."

_Pattern Blue_ (41)

Kaworu  **ripped (42)** the page from the work and _burnt it in his hands_ , before _anyone else_ could get so much as a look at it. " _No_."

H: "I'm not even gonna ask _what_ it was."

A quick transmission from Kaworu revealed to Rei _what_ it was, and she felt somewhat sick. _'I would say that was_ wise _, fish.'_

_'I was not going to let you see_ that _, in such a way.'_

_'I would not_ want _to see such a thing. T- thank you.'_

A: "So you _killed_ Kaworu, which I assume the _aftermath_ is what you protected us from, but there's _still_ a pattern Blue?"

K: "Perhaps Shinji's... _method_ had unforeseen consequences."

Z: "How bad was it?"

K: "As bad as you would expect, from such a morbid demise."

S: "Great, so I made thing's _worse_." Grumbling. "Was there anything else we missed on that page? Other than... the mess?"

K: "I... think you _realised_ what you did."

S: "I couldn't realise that _before_?"

A: "So what the fuck is happening _now_?"

H: "Not even _Misato_ knows."

**(43)**

K: "Indeed, the scenario has changed quite a bit at this point."

R: "They would not have _expected_ one of the pilots... _eat_ you."

H: "Would _anyone_ expect that?"

A: "Knowing _them_ , I'm sure they _planned_ for such a fucked up possibility."

Z: "Is that _Shinji_ , or... someone else?"

K: "Might be, but then again _why_ would Shinji be allowed to go _here_? After... what happened."

S: "It's _Maya_. Ritsuko _did_ say we looked rather familiar."

R: "Interesting how Kaji decides to inform _Maya_ , instead of _Misato_. Then again, I doubt they have quite the same relationship as the _Laserdiscs_."

K: "This work has shown him more with _Maya_ , I noticed. It's rather fascinating how the dynamic between people can completely _change_ with outside influence."

A: "Then again, I doubt Rits and Maya would've even gotten together _here_ , if not for _you_ Rei."

R: "Considering this society, I would not be surprised."

**(44)**

Z: "...So it's come to _that_?"

R: "As in the Laserdiscs. Only... I think we can safely assume it is not _Misato_ holding the gun."

K: "Quite the radical departure from even the _Laserdisc_ reality. Here and even _there_ , Maya would not even _touch_ a gun."

_'Unless... she was_ pushed _that way.'_

_'...Indeed.'_

A: "And _now_ , she's holding it against her Sempai."

S: "...Man, it's a good thing they aren't reading this, is it?"

Z: "I'm pretty sure they have the _other_ copies of this."

Hiro gave her an unamused look.

Z: "I'm guessing they didn't _want_ to know that?"

A: "I would've been happy _not_ knowing that. Maya doesn't deserve this shit."

**(45)**

A: " _Not_ Maya? God damn it stop trying to bait us!"

R: "It appears Maya will _still_ be Maya."

K: "Interesting how _this_ has happened in a similar way, then. Kaji is not dead. Yet. Therefore _why_ would she be this... cold?"

S: "Kaji may not be dead. But _Asuka_..."

K: "That would do it."

H: "Whatever would _Maya_ be doing, then? Do _both_ of them want the truth?"

R: "I would assume so. They would both use differing ways of _obtaining_ this truth, however."

_Human_ (46)

K: "I don't believe that for one second. If there is _one_ constant to me, it is that I am _Nephilim_."

R: "It would be a believable falsehood, for _Shinji_."

S: "At the very least, it would break me _more_."

A: "What was that _pattern Blue_ , then?"

Z: "You even _looked_ like you do here, wouldn't you look _different_ if you weren't Nephilim?"

K: "Most likely. The only reason I came to be in the first place was through SEELE. And for their purposes. Why would they even _send_ me to NERV if I was not _Nephilim_?"

H: "If this doesn't make sense to _you_ , then we're _really_ in trouble."

A: "Yeah, that's putting it lightly."

R: "Let us hope the _next_ pages help shed light on what is happening."

**(47)**

K: "And _now_ , they would _both_ know."

Z: "She already _looks_ like she regrets it."

R: "What she found out in the _Laserdiscs_ , was that I was cloned."

S: "Would that be _similar_ , then?"

A: "They haven't gotten rid of the _tank_ , yet. So it can _still_ come up."

H: "I'd say _we_ are gonna regret knowing what it is."

**(48)**

A: "So it _is_ Maya showing you what's going on."

S: "At least _this_ time around."

Z: "Have you even _been_ to Terminal _here_? I know that's what happened in the Laserdiscs."

Shinji shook his head. "Never even stepped foot in there. _Asuka's_ been there before I did."

A: "If you could even _call_ it that."

R: "And _still_ calling her Sempai, despite all that has happened between the two of them."

K: "That would _definitely_ be a Maya thing."

H: "Must say, you look _alright_ for just being told Kaworu was human."

S: "I'm not even sure if he _believes_ it."

K: "It _does_ go against what _we_ would expect. But think about it, to _this Shinji_ , I have only been Nephilim _once_. Two occurrences is not enough to establish a pattern, after all."

A: "Even in _Wolk's_ work, you were the same as you are. I think they only told him you were human to save face."

K: "That would be logical. If SEELE knew that _he_ knew I _was_ an Angel, that would not sit well."

R: "He is about to know a lot _more_ than they have anticipated, however."

**(49)**

R: "I think the illustrator read too much Jojo."

K: "It's not even rather _menacing_. That's simply the rumbling of the door."

A: "I mean, I'm _sure_ Terminal Dogma would be _quite_ menacing to someone like Shinji."

_Alive_ (50)

Shinji took a double take. "You're... _actually_ alive?"

A: "...If you could call it living. It's like... mama."

R: "You even have that doll."

A: "...Yeah."

She timidly went for Shinji's hand. " _How_... am I alive?"

K: "A similar method to Rei, I would suggest."

R: "... _You_ have to go through this as well?"

Z: "Maybe your cynicism about this is founded. You can't even _die_."

**(52)**

H: "I... don't think you would _mind_ , Shinji."

S: "...If it _was_ Asuka. And not just... a shell."

R: "It ultimately depends on the recovery of the soul. We know... such recovery can be rather lossy."

A: "I don't think... that is me. Like... mama."

K: "Armisael may have taken... _more_ than your life."

**(53)**

A: "...The _fuck_?"

R: "Is this the power of a mother's love, perhaps."

H: "Pattern _Blue_ , however. An Angel?"

S: "Evangelion come up as pattern Blue as well."

K: "The Magi simply know to differentiate between Angel and Evangelion."

Z: "I mean, there's _no one_ else it could be. At least, from _my_ knowledge of what the core is."

A: "It's rather _convenient_ , ain't it?" She pointed out. "So why the fuck could it not get my _mind_? That's a bit of a Faustian deal if I've seen one."

K: "Reality is-"

A: "Often disappointing, yes. I think we've established that well and good."

**(54)**

Asuka _really_ didn't expect this revelation, hitting her like a punch to guts. "...w-What?"

K: "...Interesting." He could only say.

A: "H-how... is that possible?"

Kaworu gave Rei a significant look. "I... do not know. This... is beyond what we know."

R: "Indeed. This is something _completely_ unexpected."

S: "If... we ignore the fact we don't know _why_ our _child_ was an _Angel_. This means... it was our child that _protected_ you, Asuka."

Yet another gut punch. "...Protected?"

Z: "...No wonder the Commander hid this from you."

H: "Such a thing would... further destroy you."

S: "...Not like I'm exactly _whole_ at this point."

R: "Are you... okay, Asuka?"

A meek nod. "...Yeah." And a squeeze on Shinji's hand. "I'll be fine."

_Apparition_ (55)

A: "...Maybe."

K: "The you of Instrumentality."

A: "There to torment Shinji again?"

S: "I... am not gonna let go of you easily."

H: "Would _any_ of us?"

Z: "She may certainly _try_."

R: "What _could_ she do, if she was but an apparition of his mind? Other than attacks _of_ the mind."

**(56)**

Asuka sighed, once again, shifting herself ever closer to her partner. "You... softie."

S: "Even _if_ you're... gone. I still love you. As I would."

A: "...Idiot."

**(57)**

R: "I would say that was accurate. You have heard so _much_ about what happened."

K: "At this point, it would not change _much_ , about your mental state. You _still_ wish to end this world."

S: "...Just add it to the _list_ of reasons."

H: "I'm sure you _could_ spend... forever with Asuka, if you wanted."

A: "Thing is, he can. And... if Rei and Kaworu weren't around, maybe he would."

Zero Two gave a look to the other Nephilim.

Who gave a nod. "We... made promises to one another. If... one of us were to pass. We would support the one who remained."

A: "It... would be better than ending the world, if one of us were to... die."

S: "It's a shame I don't have that... luxury, in this."

**(58)**

A: "... _what?"_

Z: "I feel that's been said a lot."

K: "Most interesting."

H: "Do we have any theories?"

K: "A side effect of looping, perhaps. Then again, the Wolk loop did not bestow upon you two the status of Nephilim."

A: "He doesn't even _look_ Nephilim!"

S: "Not like we could really _tell_ , if I was as pale as Rei and Kaworu."

R: "Surely that would have been pointed out."

Z: "Like _us_ , then? Cause _we're_ Nephilim. And _we_ came here somehow."

K: "Only yours wasn't a _loop_. It's more akin to a _rebirth_."

A: "So the _mechanism_ of _how_ Shinji returned is _different_?"

K: "In Wolk's work, it was implied _I_ was involved in sending you back. _Evidentially_ , I did not hold such a role in _this_."

S: "So what, after _Instrumentality_ , the Gods just thought to _punish_ me for what happened?"

A: "Sure _seems_ like that."

R: "That _does_ explain a few of the... oddities of this work. Shinji's increased strength and skill at using Unit-01. The AT-Field anomaly during Arael. The fact your _child_ was an Angel."

S: "...Like you, then."

A nod. "Very much like _us_."

K: "That would imply a _non-Nephilim_ can _become_ Nephilim. Instead of having to be _born_."

Z: "Uhh, is _Nephilim_ interchangeable with _Angel_ , in this instance?"

K: "More or less. _Angel_ is generally used to identify the pureborn kin of Adam or Lilith, whereas _Nephilim_ refers to the _hybrid_ of Adam and human, or Lilith and human."

H: "What of Adam and Lilith?"

K: "The world ends."

Zero Two gave a few panicked glances between Rei and Kaworu.

Which managed to get a few laughs out of said Nephilim. "Trust us, if _that_ was the case, the world would have ended a long time ago." Rei emulated Zero Two's cheeky look.

_Angel_ (59)

A: "He's _completely_ an Angel?"

S: "How the hell have Kaworu and I _swapped_ roles?"

K: "Even if the electronic impulses differ from a human, the _feelings_ are still evident."

R: "I would say _you_ were proof of this."

Z: "I mean, NERV would be scared of _anything_ Angel, wouldn't they?"

K: "That was one of the reasons we kept our status to ourselves. We still do, in fact. At least outside of NERV."

R: "Ignorance is bliss, as they say."

S: "Still... I don't know _how_ I could be an Angel. Sure, it would explain why Kaworu was _human_ , but..."

R: "Another unforeseen consequence of whatever caused you to loop. _Whatever_ caused it, it was a different mechanism to the Wolkian method."

A: "Not like we know _how_ the 'Wolkian method' of _looping back in time_ even _works_."

H: "You have to _categorise_ methods of going back in time?"

A: "I mean, there's only _two_ , so you don't need to do too much."

H: "That's still _two more_ than what should be _normal_."

**(60)**

K: "And that was always the _other_ question. What happened to the Shinji of _before_?"

R: "You could say the same of Wolk's work. However, they did not focus on the metaphysical implications of such a thing."

A: "Shit, thinking about that sort of thing too much would probably _fry their brains_."

S: "Well that's _me_ screwed, then."

Z: "There was always gonna be a catch, wasn't there?"

A: "There's been _several_ catches so far, and Shinji here has been fucked by _all_ of them."

R: "Par for the course, at this point."

H: "Surely you could _still_ persist through this."

S: "I mean, the universe has just fucked me _again_ , after having fucked me a _first_ time. If _that_ doesn't completely _vaporise_ my mind then I don't know _what_ will."

Z: "What, did they think you didn't suffer _enough_ during the Laserdiscs? Even a _few episodes in_ , we decided you got the short stick."

A: "It's almost _comical_ how much the universe has it out for us. Sure, sometimes you get something _good_ , but more often than not it's just a trauma filled _shitshow_."

R: "And yet, we continue to consume these works."

A: "Well, yeah. Cause there's always the _chance_ one of these things _eventually_ cuts us a break."

K: "Serves to remind us just how well _this_ reality ended up, as well."

A: "That too."

**(61)**

A: "I mean, I'm _already_ dead."

R: "And yet _that_ was not enough for them."

H: "But why would _that_ Asuka want you dead?"

A: "Revenge, obviously. She saw what Shinji did in Instrumentality."

K: "Evidently, she decided on a... much less _constructive_ method of patching things up, compared to Wolk's work."

S: "But if I _die_ , won't she go with me?"

A: "I doubt she would even _mind_ , at this rate. She has complete _contempt_ of you, Shinji."

Z: "How the hell can she _kill_ him, if she's just an apparition?"

A: "She'll certainly _try_. Probably shatter his mind, in some way."

S: "In _my_ state, she'll struggle even _finding_ something to shatter."

**(62)**

H: "...Seems she doesn't _have_ to try."

R: "That would have been a given, either way."

A: "...Still. I _hate_ seeing us in this state."

K: "They would rather _die_ , then live in this world."

Z: "Or take the world with them."

Shinji reaffirmed his hold on Asuka, the two buddied up for a good majority of this reading so far. "...Like usual, then."

A: "...And like usual, we would _like_ this world to end. Even more so than even the _Theatrical_."

Z: "If... you were in this state. Would you do the same thing?"

S: "...Probably."

_Leave_ (64)

A: "How the hell are they gonna _smuggle_ me out of there?"

R: "I do not think _many_ even realise you _are_ down there."

Z: "Should be as easy as stuffing you in a box or something."

A: "Ah Christ."

S: "They may _try_ , but knowing _this_ shit I fully expect it to fail."

K: "In probably the _worst_ way it can."

**(65)**

A: "Fuck it _is_ a box! Damn it Zero Two!"

A _small_ smug look, somewhat muted due to the... well, _everything_.

K: "I'm sure this source is our friendly neighbourhood double agent."

R: "As it would be.

S: "Who's _stopping_ us, though?"

H: "Probably the worst person it could be."

S: "I don't understand my father's thought process with that."

K: "Only that _wasn't_ his thoughts. He wanted you like this so you would follow his plan for Instrumentality, your skill in piloting Unit-01 is otherwise irrelevant in this situation."

A: "It appears our double agent got some bad intel."

**(66)**

Asuka stared at the page, before this stare slowly shifted to Hiro.

H: "My bad?"

A: "Yes. Your bad."

S: "I reckon the only _worse_ person they could've encountered in this situation is my _father_."

K: "I gather I don't need to state the obvious in that she saw _straight through_ this attempt."

R: "She would therefore also _know_ it was Shinji in there. Or Asuka."

Z: "Does she not even _care_ , in this state?"

A: "You should know this. Misato _hates_ the Angels for what they did to her. And... since Shinji _is_ an Angel."

Rei and Kaworu could pick up on the timid looks of Hiro and Zero Two. "It... took an extreme amount of care to inform her of our... status. Even _with_ our strong relationship with her."

H: "That sounds like it was _wise_. Considering how she... _reacted_ here."

**(67)**

R: "An AT-Field."

K: "You really _are_ an Nephilim."

S: "I... don't think Misato will react well to this."

A: "It basically _confirm_ her fears. So yeah, she probably wouldn't."

S: "But especially seeing me... like _this_. If she even _cares_ about me now."

Z: " _Surely_ she cares for you, even _now_."

H: "That may be when she realises what she tried to do. In her anger."

**(68)**

There was quiet disquiet.

R: "...It appears you were correct, Hiro."

**(69)**

Rei gave a half hearted chuckle. "Kaji is not the _only_ one to engage in espionage."

A: "She's actually _not bad_ at this kind of stuff. Gotta give credit where it's due, she _was_ the one behind sabotaging Jet Alone."

S: "So... _both_ decided to use Maya for their own purposes?"

K: "Not too beyond _any_ of them. Even _Misato_ engaged in this, at least in the Laserdiscs."

R: "All's fair in love and war."

Z: "Yeah, I can't see _Maya_ as a secret agent."

A: "Oh Maya's _way_ too innocent for that kind of business. I'm _still_ kinda surprised that not only are there people _like_ her remaining in this world, but they can _work for NERV_."

R: "She likes to see the best in the world, and has a strong belief in technology."

H: "It's more than you can say of _you_ guys."

R: "It appears Ritsuko fully _expects_ SEELE to launch their incursion, as well."

K: "They would _certainly_ know Shinji's status."

_Senseless Death_ (70)

K: "Speaking of."

R: "They are _skipping_ the hacking of the Magi?"

A: "Looks like they're skipping even a _final meeting_ with Commander Asshole."

K: "They of all people know how completely _off the rails_ the plan has gone."

S: "Would... would they know you were _human_?"

K: "They would _have_ to."

H: "Did this happen in the... who am I kidding, of _course_ it happened in the Laserdiscs."

R: "Even _there_ , they had _some_ warning. _Here_ , we _fully expected_ a SEELE incursion."

A: "Mainly cause they _fucked up_ and played their hands early. By the time the JSSDF got here, not only was the whole damn _city_ locked down, there were _three Evangelion deployed_ and _waiting_."

S: "And yet they _still_ tried nuking us."

A: "Thank God for Hikari, eh Shinji?"

**(71)**

Z: "I see they aren't wasting _any_ time, are they?"

A: "Of _course_ they wouldn't! I wouldn't be surprised if this goes _worse_ than the damn Laserdiscs, and _that_ was fucked enough!"

R: "And yet, I doubt Shinji will simply bow down and die."

S: "Not _now_."

**(72)**

H: " _THAT'S A NUKE?!"_

K: "It happened in the Laserdiscs."

R: "How _many_ people would this have killed?"

A: "Surely they would've _evacuated_ everyone beforehand. Even the _Laserdiscs_ did as much."

S: "Or it could be another example at how much _worse_ this has gotten."

**(73)**

K: "I'm sure this will go a similar way to the Laserdiscs, either way."

Z: "I can only guess it's 'Get Shinji in the Eva'."

S: "Pretty much. Unless someone shoots me first."

A: "You won't die _now_. How will you suffer _more_ if you end up _dead_?"

S: "Gee, thanks."

**(74)**

R: "Only... it is not the barrel of the JSSDF you are facing."

Shinji grunted. "Figures it's Misato."

A: "I'm sure _she_ would've preferred you die."

K: "If he dies _now_ , then all his suffering would've resulted in _nothing_."

A: "At least _here_ , sure we _all_ suffered but we _got something_."

S: "More than you can say of the _Laserdiscs_."

**(75)**

R: "Join the club."

H: "We know that well. We were _born_ to be tools."

K: "As were we."

A: "At least _we_ had _some_ years of not being tools."

S: "When we were _toddlers_."

Z: "You _could_ make the choice to die."

S: "Knowing _Misato_ , she wouldn't make that decision."

A: " _Our_ Misato."

**(76)**

S: "...And knowing _me_."

R: "You would _not_ be able to refuse her. Not now."

K: "Not when... _that_ happened. During her protection of you."

H: "She... _died_? During the endgame?"

A: "Yeah... don't say we spoiled you, since you figured it out on your own."

_Decision (77)_

Z: "She's not happy."

A: " _Fuck_ her. She's been antagonising Shinji as long as this shit's been going on."

H: "Sounds like that's what Shinji's thinking."

S: "Though... why would I disappear?"

The Nephilim had to think. "...A grandfather paradox? If... Instrumentality never happened. Then you would not exist to go _back_."

A: "See, that would _work_. If not for the fact the timeline has been permanently _fucked_. If he was gonna get _erased_ from time, he would've done so earlier, surely."

K: "Not to mention that is not what happened in _Wolk's_ work. And, as we know other worlds _exist_ , we can expect _any_ sort of _looping_ to result in a new _branch_ altogether."

S: "Maybe I should just go back and try again."

A: "Shinji, things are _this_ bad on the _first_ loop. I don't know _how_ , but I _know_ it would get _so much worse_ if you went back."

S: "You're probably not wrong."

**(78)**

R: "Is... this what she wanted, perhaps?"

A: "I imagine it would _help_... though, I don't know if she's too far gone, at this point."

K: "The eyes don't lie, Asuka. Shock, and disconcertion. She does not know what to think of this."

S: "...I would _hope_ you take it well."

**(79)**

H: "And yet, you still fight him."

A: "Looks like I was right with my thoughts. Damn it."

R: "Even without an S2 Organ."

S: "But I _fight_. As I would."

Z: "You have that determination, Shinji."

K: "Not to mention your status as Nephilim will help boost any chance you have. Even _if_ Unit-01 was not augmented with an S2 Organ."

A: "...I don't think she realises this. Blinded by her own hatred of him."

**(80)**

R: "And that is the core of this conflict between him and your Instrumentality self. Your complete _hatred_ of him has clouded your mind."

K: "I wonder if she will understand this, eventually."

Asuka shook her head. "I don't think she will. I'd say she's just as damaged as _Shinji_ is."

S: "Quite the achievement, at this point."

**(81)**

The redhead grumbled, looking on with disdain at this work before feeling disgusted with herself that this was _exactly_ what her _other_ was doing. "God... _damn it_."

Z: "You aren't _completely_ catatonic. Not like that's much of a consolation."

S: "Hopefully... Misato will protect you. Even if you're in... this state. I wouldn't want you to die _again_."

A: "Even _if_ I was better off dead? God knows _I_ wouldn't want to live like that."

She could see the conflict on his face.

A: "...Hopefully you won't have to make that decision."

_Love (82)_

R: "...You still remember your love for Shinji."

A: "As... I would. Out of _all_ the things to forget... I wouldn't want to forget that."

S: "At least... you have that going for you."

K: "From the looks of it, that's also opened up some _old_ feelings in your alt."

Z: "I mean, that's still _you_ , Asuka. The one who has feelings for him."

A: "...I think she understands that."

**(83)**

H: "It looks like you think the _doll_ is Shinji."

K: "I think _that_ is what the alternate Asuka meant, with her choice of words."

A: "Like... mama." Yet another sigh. "Hopefully this wraps up soon. I wouldn't mind wanting to spend some time with her."

S: "You and me both."

R: "And once again, your other is _consumed_ by her pure _hatred_ of Shinji."

Z: "Not just _of_ Shinji. She looks like she hates _herself_."

K: "To her, that is _not_ her. Merely a puppet."

A: "Not the _first_ time."

**(84)**

A: "...For _both_ parts. Even after all this time she _still_ loathes herself."

R: "At least, the self that Shinji shaped her other into."

A: "Jeez, if she thinks _that's_ bad, how would she react if she saw _me_?"

S: "Considering she very much _hates_ me, probably similarly."

K: "One wonders if _we_ would be of any help in curtailing this alt, if they just so happened to show up."

Z: "I mean, she showed up anyway cause of this _Instrumentality_ , right? And that didn't happen _here_ , I'm pretty sure."

A: "We wouldn't _be_ here if it went that way."

**(85)**

A: "Yeah, we know, crazy me."

**STOP 85**

Kaworu flipped partially ahead. "I believe that would be the end of this arc."

"Thank _Christ_ , I need a break from that." Asuka got up. "Do you reckon our folks are still here, Shin?"

Shrugging. "They're probably at the Geofront but it can't hurt to try."

"You guys headed to the Geofront as well?" Queried Zero Two.

"Tagging along?"

"I think _we_ will join you as well."

"Looks like _everyone's_ coming." Hiro noted.

"I mean, _most_ things related to us are in that damn Geofront." Derided Asuka. "No wonder Rits and Maya live there."

" _We_ live there too, Asuka."

They continued this sort of conversation as they left the apartment.

Leaving the doujin on the desk.

The door of the fridge slid open, its single denizen waddling to the fridge for some breakfast tuna.

Before noticing he was alone.

With the doujin.

Beer in flipper and fish in the other, he hopped onto a chair, and began reading.

* * *

## 3\. Lunch

Go figure, the two veterans of Project E were indeed at the Geofront.

Not like they were doing too much, other than going through a few old files while Ritsuko was otherwise preoccupied with _something_.

So there they were, in the cafeteria. "We're lucky we even _have_ a cafeteria." Yui noted, over a box of ramen. "Back in my day, we just had a few vending machines and kitchenettes." A pause. "I feel old now."

"Even though you don't look a day over 27."

"Yeah, that's kinda odd, no offence." Noted Asuka. "You look _exactly_ like you did when I was a child, mama."

Who simply chuckled. "There's a good reason for this, Asuka. Metaphysical Biology."

"A rather fascinating phenomenon. One we probably couldn't even _observe_."

"We've looked a _bit_ into it, but the thing with Met Bio is it's pretty difficult to really _prove_ much. Not without either expensive equipment or selling your soul to the devil."

"Gut, dass wir beides gemacht haben."

_("Good thing we've done both.")_ Zeppelin dryly retorted, before being quickly quelled by Kyoko as she realised just _who_ was with her.

"Keine Sorge, wir haben das gleiche auch gemacht, Mama."

( _"Don't worry, we've done the same as well, mama.")_ Her child remarked back in their mother tongue, oblivious to the significance. Much to the mother's relief.

"Oiii!" Came a voice, quite obviously Misato. "I was looking for you two!"

Kyoko pointed at herself.

"Yeah!"

She waltzed over and thudded a book onto the table. "The book you wanted."

Asuka and Shinji glanced upon the book.

And immediately upon seeing the _title_ , quite quickly became tomatoes. "Oh my God, _MISATO_!"

A halo would appear over her head if it could, as she feigned innocence despite knowing _full well_ what the book had. "What? They wanted to read it."

Much to the amusement of _everyone_. "T-That's not gonna help their attitude towards..."

Yui perked an eyebrow, picking up the implication. "Oh _now_ I'm interested."

A head thudded on the desk. "I need to learn to keep my mouth shut."

"Look on the bright side, Shin-chan!" Misato enthused. "It's not the _worst_ work they could read."

~~~

Ritsuko and Maya were busy reading through the third work of this collection that had been found.

Even making a game of ripping out the pornographic sections and other questionables, and taking potshots at the nearby trash can.

Of course, there was still _other_ discussion. "Am I _really_ that easy to influence?"

"Kinda." A small smirk. "Though don't worry. I haven't bugged your shoes or anything. Too much foot traffic, the bug wouldn't last long."

A flat look at her Sempai. "Still, Kaji should've known _you_ engage in light espionage as well."

"I wouldn't call what I did _light_ , Maya. But hey, all's fair and all that."

"I'd say that's even _more_ accurate in this work." A glance towards said work. "...Kaji? Really?"

To which Ritsuko only gave a huff. "He's quite the womaniser. Really knows how to make you feel good."

The glance shifted to Ritsuko, now ever so slightly judgemental. "You know from experience."

"I was in college too, you realise. We've had an _amicable_ relationship, though we did have a brief fling after Misato dumped him."

A feigned gasp of shock. "How _scandalous_."

"Yeah, Misato didn't like _that_ too much." She gave a bashful laugh. "Though it _was_ brief. Don't think it even lasted a _month_ before we mutually broke it off."

"I'm guessing cause it was a rebound?"

Shrugging. "Yeah, and I _did_ feel bad for Misato. Eventually I just couldn't do it. Obviously _he_ thought the same."

"I know from the _Laserdiscs_ he was still rather... _friendly_ with you."

She barked a laugh. "Yeah, that's Kaji. I'm sure Misato's gonna keep him on a bit of a leash _nowadays_ , though."

"Is that... like _us_ or-"

" _Figuratively_ , Maya."

"Oh." A reserved glance downward.

The terminal gave a long beep, distracting Maya from her embarrassment as she observed. "L- looks like it's done, Sempai."

She, too, looked over the terminal. "Excellent. I was _sure_ there would be a few issues with it."

And so she got up, towel in hand. "Eliza?"

Serenely floating in a tube of LCL, was a rather tranquil Eliza.  "Is... it done, mama?" Her voice was rather quiet, muffled by both the medium and her surprisingly timid tone.

"Yeah. We're just about to drain and get you out of there."

"...Good."

She once more closed her eyes, enjoying the last few moments of this. It was rather... comfortable. A fact her Freudian daemon incessantly pointed out to her.

Still. It was rather nice to not have to do much. To her, at least. It was rather _easy_ , actually.

The LCL around her drained, and the pod opened, her walking out to a modesty towel from her mama.  "Did it usually take this long with Rei?"

Nodding. "We generally had to dedicate a whole _day_. I wouldn't be surprised if Shinji and Asuka were worried sick about her."

"That's... probably what they thinking right now."

"I imagine Rei could put two and two together from the fact we _all_ aren't accessible." Her mama noted. "But this _was_ your own decision, after all. She can't change that."

"Mhm. Though... I still feel kinda bad about it."

"I'm sure she'll understand." Maya comforted, offering her clothes.

"Yeah..."

Her demure demeanour towards Rei was rather palpable. "...You must be starving, Eliza." Ritsuko thought to distract her. "Lunch?"

A small smile.  "I'd like that."

* * *


	4. ReC 00

* * *

## 1\. NERV Business

"They _called_ you?"

"Well, I don't think they had your number." Ritsuko thought. "Or if they did, obviously you didn't pick up."

"Considering I was otherwise... _preoccupied_. I wonder if they knew."

"Rei's quite perceptive, almost scarily so."

"I wonder _why_ , Maya."

A bashful pause. "So I wouldn't be surprised if she _did_."

"...Of course, I'm sure my _absence_ would've been noted."

"At the very least, I doubt they got _too_ far ahead from where you last left off." Her mama handwaved. "Knowing them, I imagine they had to take a break to just... absorb it all."

"Not like _we're_ immune to such thing, Sempai."

They opened the door to the cafeteria, and Ritsuko decided the Gods were in a bit of a mood today as practically _everyone_ was at a table. "Hey Eliza! You missed part of it!"

"Not like that's a _bad_ thing." Hiro spoke, sitting at the table with their veritable spread, most of which was _honey_.

Her mothers gave a small chuckle. "You would've had to confront it eventually."

"I know."

While Ritsuko and Maya went to get some food for themselves and their daughter, Eliza thought to sit adjacent to her pilot.

Who looked rather gentle.

"...I know-"

"It was your own decision. Was it not?"

"It was."

A small smile, seeing her Field glow genuine. "Then I cannot complain. You... simply want to protect me."

"As you did _us_ , Rei." Kaworu mediated.

"...You're not mad?"

"You know I cannot be mad at _you_ , Eliza."

A bit more silence.

Before Eliza got up, went around the desk and gave her a hug.  "Thank you."

To which Rei replied in kind.

Shinji and Asuka and Hiro and Zero Two simply looked on in confusion. "Uhh, it's good to see sisters all patch up and everything. But... _what_ was this about?"

"Is it related to that Shell Ghost thing we saw?"

Rei gave a small smirk. "NERV business."

~~~

Meanwhile, mostly on Misato's behest, the veterans of Project E were spirited away to their office.

With the book.

"Your daughter really... _reacted_ to this, didn't she?"

"Obviously she doesn't want _us_ to read it." A small smile. "So, _why_ don't you think she wants us to read it?"

Yui thought. "It's not just cause it possibly _destroyed_ them. The way they made it _sound_ like, it went _better_."

"You could say _anything_ was better than the Laserdiscs, Yui."

"I know, not exactly a high bar." She derided. "But no. I think it's a rather... _personal_ thing."

Her eyebrow perked up. "Well, _I'm_ certainly interested in it."

"Well, let's get started with it, then."

And so they began.

_'Ich kann verstehen, warum du mich vor unserer Tochter unterdrücken würdest, aber du hättest mir wenigstens eine_ Warnung geben können. _'_

_('I can understand_ why _you would quell me in front of our daughter, but you could've at least given me_ some _warning.')_

_'Forgive if I felt a bit panicked in giving you airtime with my daughter, Zeppelin.'_ She mentally deadpanned.

_'_ Weißt du, _dass sie so reagieren würde, wenn sie das volle Ausmaß unserer Dichotomie kennen würde?'_

_('Do you_ know _she would react like that if she knew the full extent of our dichotomy?')_

_'She_ would _. Such thing_ completely shaped _her, and I know from Misato she does_ not _like being reminded of what happened.'_

_'Sie hat nicht nachteilig darauf reagiert, als ich mich bekannt machte. Sie hat mir sogar_ geantwortet _.'_

_('She did not adversely react to when_ I _made myself known. She even_ replied _to me.')_

_'This was a part of the accord we made. I am_ not _budging on this, Zeppelin. For her sake.'_

Indeed it was. _'Prima.' ('Fine.)'_

_'And don't you even_ think _about pulling a Molotov-Ribbentrop on me.'_

"Kyo?"

She was brought out of her internal musings, Yui having stopped her narration. "Yeah Yui?"

"...You alright?"

A hasty nod. "I was just... conversing with my other."

She could understand this. And so she continued. " _"Five years and she still manages to scare me like that..."_ "

"...Wait, what? How does _that_ work?"

~~~

"So how much _have_ I missed?"

"I don't think you missed _too_ much." Remarked Shinji. "Just me getting fucked over again."

"As usual." His partner derided.

"Will you be needing a summary on what happened?"

"It wouldn't _hurt_."

A look to Kaworu, as they continued walking to the apartment.

"Basically: Asuka quote unquote lived despite the Commander's intentions, her unborn child was an Angel and saved her in exchange for breaking her mind; I am _human_ and very much _dead_ , _Shinji_ is the Angel this time around; the SEELE Incursion begins with no warning at all, with Misato forcing Shinji at _gunpoint_ to pilot Unit-01; and most of this is known by Misato Kaji Ritusko Maya Makoto and the Commanders and the Committee."

If her eyes were screens, an hourglass would show. Though eventually she got that pure _dump_ of information down.  "Makes sense."

"Why are _we_ the only people _not_ to understand?" Hiro exclaimed.

"I think the issue is we expect things to make _sense_ in this world, darling." His other stated, completely flat in intonation. "Not like _our_ world was immune to that."

The door to the apartment opened. "You'd think you'd be more _used_ to-" The noise from the apartment cut her off. "Is that..."

She made a beeline for the living room, and gave a long sigh. "God damn it, you dumb bird."

A sluggish wark cut through, as Pen-Pen was visibly upset. She was sure the multitude of drinks that had piled up didn't help.

Either way, as the others filed in, she scooped the wayward penguin up. "Surely you knew the drinks wouldn't _help_ you get through this."

"W-Wark."

"Yeah yeah, they all say that." Using her foot to open his fridge, he was plopped in. "Go sleep it off, okay?"

"Wa-  **_hic_ ** _-_ wark."

Even before his door closed, she could tell he was out like a light in his bed. "Been a while since I had to do _that_."

She gave a glance to Hiro and Zero Two, simply standing and staring near the entry hall as the others were tidying up after the penguin, even Eliza helped. "What?"

"This doesn't help your case, you realise."

It really didn't. Even for _this_ world, having to tend to a drunken and depressed penguin was considered _somewhat_ odd. "Okay, fair enough."

* * *

# 2\. Re-Take: Volume 00

Note: Page numbers refer to the SECOND THIRD of VOLUME 02 of the NON-H version (starting from page 85), roughly corresponding to VOLUME 00 of the H version. 

**Character Key:**

Shinji (S) Asuka (A)

Rei (R) Kaworu (K) Eliza (E)

Hiro (H) Zero Two (Z)

_Filled with Hatred_ (85)

A: "We were up to here last time?"

K: "Yes."

**(86)**

S: "So she _always_ knew."

R: "I imagine she of _all_ people would have known this."

A: "Considering _what_ happened to me, I'm not surprised."

E: "Do we know who this apparition is?"

Z: "I think they established it was _Asuka_ , but after the end of the Laserdiscs."

H: "Not that we _know_ how the Laserdiscs end."

K: "But separate to the Asuka that Shinji is in a relationship with."

E: "And yet, only _Shinji_ can see her. Despite her interactions with the environment."

S: "Hang on, is this just covering _her_ perspective?"

A: "Great, a _recap._ "

**(87)**

Z: "You were _jealous_?"

A: "As I _would_ be. From _her_ perspective, Shinji's going for the _false_ Asuka."

S: "But in _my_ head."

E: "Even though he just wanted to make things better for himself."

S: "Yeah, look how _that_ ended up."

H: "Pretty much what we established earlier, then. The _apparition_ of Asuka simply does not _want_ Shinji to be happy."

A: "No shit, she wants him to be as miserable as _she_ is."

R: "Considering just how mentally afflicted she would be from her... situation. It is almost understandable."

K: "And yet, Shinji did not experience this, at least to such an extent. He at least _tried_ to change things for the better, not that it worked out."

Z: "Then again, what _could_ this other Asuka do? She _did_ come back, but _with_ Shinji. Not as if she was the Asuka _here_."

R: "Rather _un_ like previous examples."

A: "Why _did_ I come back and not get put in my other self like Shinji did? That happened in Wolk's work!"

S: "Maybe Kimigabuchi wanted to screw you over _more_."

**(88)**

Rei grumbled.

A: "Jesus _Christ_."

Eliza simply gave a sad glance to Rei.

R: "I am fine. I... know it happened."

K: "...And that is where you decided to... stress him."

A: "...Just how much was my mind _warped_ to think _this_ was a good idea?"

Z: "I think it rather simple. You _hate_ Shinji, for what happened. For what he did to you, and for how he apparently _continued_ to slight you by going for this _other_ Asuka."

S: "I mean... most of what happened _is_ my fault. But I _tried_ to fix things with my second chance."

E: "Except, to _this_ Asuka, it wasn't _her_. Just her past self. One _radically_ different to her current self."

H: "Which is why she... did this."

A: "...God damn it."

_Me_ (89)

K: "And yet, it was _you_ that helped Shinji as well."

R: "Your past self, at the very least."

A: "Well... I _did_ like Shinji. Even _after_ that botched kiss, I would've still liked him. Would've just thought he was thick."

Z: "Considering how you _convinced_ him of your _love_. You'd think you took notes from _me_."

A: "At least we _had_ a relationship before I took it that far. You pretty much did it _immediately_."

H: "Even though it was unintentional."

Z: "Not that _I_ minded. Or you."

E: " _How_ did you two meet?"

Z: "Well, our _real_ first time was when we were children and he saved me from experimentation. The _second_ first time was when _this_ curious darling went to a lake I was swimming _nude_ in."

E: "Ah, I see you missed a few steps in the relationship process."

Her wit was palpable, as Hiro meekly looked downward.

Z: "Oh _don't_ be like that darling! _We_ certainly didn't mind that!"

**(90)**

S: "So _despite_ whatever this other Asuka _wanted_ , _you_ would still love me."

A: "Of _course_ I would, Shin-chan! Fuck whatever that other cow thinks of me."

H: "Even though it's _you_."

A: "Maybe so, but she's so far removed from _me_ that she might as well not even have my _name_."

K: "Not like she _could_ do much, other than terrorise Shinji."

E: "I would think that was _still_ a powerful thing she could do. If we consider _what_ Shinji can do."

Z: "I don't even know _why_ she would push you to such extremes, Shinji. Cause if _you_ die."

R: "Who is to say she _also_ does not want to die? She was perfectly fine with dying alongside Shinji."

E: "I'd say this other Asuka was correct in _one_ thing. She doesn't know."

A: "No shit I wouldn't know, for all _I_ knew everything was as they _usually_ were. Somewhat, at least."

**(91)**

E: "...This is what she doesn't know."

A: "That... _what?_ The only reason this _did_ happen was cause of everything that happened to _both_ of us fucked us over so _hard_ , we couldn't connect anymore."

R: "Which is what he tried to change, this loop."

S: "Not like _that_ worked. But if things _did_ get to here, you would be sure as hell I would not just _discard_ her like that. Not _now_. Not knowing _what_ happened."

A: "It wasn't even _your_ fault to being with. Unit-01 was fucking _flooded_ with Bakelite, you _couldn't_ pilot even if you _wanted_ to."

K: "At least, until your mother decided you could."

A: "Which she only did _after_ I bit the dust." Grumbling. "I don't hold that against her or anything, but God _damn_ it she could've acted _earlier_."

H: " _That_ Asuka wouldn't know that, would she? For all _she_ knows, Shinji simply did not act. Perhaps she warped this inaction into the belief that Shinji _hated_ her."

Z: "No _perhaps_ about it, that's pretty much _what_ happened."

E: " _This_ Asuka's logic is _flawed_ , then. At least from _our_ perspective, with what _we_ know."

R: "For all _she_ knew, this is _exactly_ what happened. And I doubt this Asuka will accept _any_ sort of reason, in her current state."

**(92)**

Z: "And yet she _stopped_?"

H: "I would think such a thing would cause _more_ appearances."

A: "...Perhaps I thought the world in general would teach him a lesson."

S: "You were right about _that_."

R: "Of course, one could understand _why_ her vision of the world would be warped to such an extent. Unlike _us_ , who were able to experience the _good_ this world had to offer, from _her_ perspective this world is nothing but _sorrow_."

K: "Exactly what _Shinji_ was convinced of, at the end of the Laserdiscs. And look how _that_ ended for the world."

E: "And yet he still _tries_ to make the world better."

S: "I _realised_ what I was thinking was a mistake, at the end of the Laserdiscs. Shame it was already _far_ too late for second thoughts."

A: "I mean, _we_ ended up alright for ourselves at least _once_ after that."

K: "This work makes those odds 50/50."

**(93)**

A: "Of course, if I keep _pushing_ him like this, we're just gonna end up back where we... ended."

R: "All because you firmly believe this world is one with _no_ redemption."

Z: "Even _our_ world, with all the stuff _that_ had going on for it, we still found _someone_ to live for. As did _others_."

H: "I don't think our world, even _with_ everything it had, ever... _warped_ us like _this_. Or even the _Laserdiscs_."

K: "Indeed, your world appeared to have an emphasis on how _love_ can change things for the better."

S: "I mean, that's the same with _our_ world, isn't it? Love conquers all?"

A: "It's pretty sappy, but it _does_ work. Even in worlds as fucked as _ours_." A judging stare at the _other_ work. "At least, _usually_ it works."

E: "Your other seems to have _adapted_ to this apparent truth of _that_ world. Not necessarily _ours_."

A: "And she takes _great_ pleasure in teaching Shinji that." She sounded disgusted with herself.

_Interloper_ (94)

E: "...Your other was there throughout _all_ of this."

S: "I don't even think _I_ knew she was there."

A: "Of course _I_ wouldn't. You kept it hidden rather well, at least to _me_."

H: "NERV didn't correctly identify her, as well."

R: "I imagine it would be almost _impossible_ to identify it as being _her_ specifically. In fact, I believe they _did_ identify Shinji as at least seeing _someone_. Due to his slip of the tongue."

K: "And yet they put it down to Angel infection."

Z: "Your other would know full well _what_ went on between you two, wouldn't she?"

A: "I'd be surprised if she _didn't_. Look at her _disgust_."

**(95)**

Z: "She's implying it has happened _before_?"

K: "A _cyclic_ world. A fascinating concept that _does_ happen."

A: "I know from the sounds of it _you_ sometimes go back to the start, Kaworu."

K: "In other worlds, where an infinite amount of things could happen. The other you of this work has been stuck in _that_ universe for who knows how long."

E: "And all this time, she's been terrorising Shinji, who ends the world just to go back again?"

S: "I sense a self-fulfilling prophecy here."

H: "Who knows _just_ how many times this has happened, before this work."

A: " _She_ doesn't even know."

Z: "Jeez no _wonder_ she's so damaged."

K: "And yet she doesn't realise that even _if_ Shinji ends the world, he is _not_ the only one left. She is often left."

R: "Unless what she is implying, is that she is not _physical_. And she is merely an soulbound passenger of his. It could explain her appearance at the end of the Laserdiscs."

A: "Certainly wasn't _Wolk's_ explanation, otherwise we... well, _couldn't_ do what we did."

E: "And yet, how did she become _soulbound_ to him in the first place? It would've taken something _extreme_ to bind them together."

K: "Instrumentality would do the job."

**(96)**

R: "Such thoughts go far to explaining _why_ this Asuka is so radically different to the _other_ Asuka."

A: "Well, if she _is_ looping, she would've had a _long_ time to think about that kind of shit."

S: "Didn't we already _discuss_ about some kind of looping, and how that would almost certainly happen with _us_ after a time?"

K: "We have. There's only so much you can go through the same motions over and over again without going mad."

E: "That Asuka is no exception."

Z: "Wait, you've already _thought_ about... what was it? Looping?"

R: "In one of our philosophical discussions we tend to get involved in."

K: "You could possibly classify _me_ as a looper. All has happened before, all will happen again."

A: "You don't _remember_ what happened in other universes though, at least _well_."

K: "As _this_ Asuka. As I, she does not know just _how many_ she had gone through, or how many is to come."

_Child (97)_

H: "If she didn't know _before_."

R: "Such a thing even appears to trouble someone as hardened as _she_ is."

A: "I imagine she sees it as a _violation_ of her. A part of Shinji _inside_ her. She'd _hate this_."

S: "I wouldn't doubt it."

E: "To her, all her efforts to _push_ you two further away have _collapsed_."

K: "And even _after_ you passed and she was the only Asuka to remain, this love of her and your child _continued_ to fight against the _other_."

Z: "Pretty much idealism vs cynicism, isn't it?"

R: "Yet so far, Shinji's idealism has won out."

A: "Judging from _this_ , whenever _I_ win out, the world ends and it's back to the start again!"

**(98)**

E: "I think you aren't too far off what she _wants_ out of Shinji."

K: "This _other_ wants to _control_ you, Shinji."

S: "I think that was kinda evident _before_."

R: "But now we _know_ for sure."

A: "Is this just her way of... _wanting_ him?"

R: "I would not be surprised."

Z: "Not exactly a healthy way of showing your... obsession. Believe me."

H: "And yet, she didn't watch her other... fight?"

A: "I _know_ she would've found out."

**(99)**

Z: "...You were right about _that_."

R: "It even affected _her_ , of all people. She constantly derided the _other_ Asuka, and yet she still felt this way when this happened."

A: "...I wouldn't be surprised if she _still_ saw herself in... well, _my_ shoes."

**(100)**

K: "Did it change her opinion of him, however?"

S: "I think we know the answer to that." He derided.

E: "A rather loaded question, regardless. Her _hatred_ is so deep seated within her, it has practically _consumed_ her."

_Harpy (101)_

H: "...As this shows?"

E: "As this shows."

Z: "What... is that the Mass Production?"

A: "Yeah. Spoiler alert, that's how I _died_ in the Laserdiscs."

Z: "I mean, we _knew_ you must've died in the Laserdiscs."

R: "And yet, he could do nothing _but_ watch as she died."

K: "Even in the _Laserdiscs_ , you wanted to get out there. But the Bakelite ensured you couldn't even _get in_ Unit-01."

S: "As we talked about."

R: "It is still a relevant subject matter, as this Asuka does _not_ know. And she would _not_ take any explanation from Shinji."

**(102)**

E: "As we talked about."

Asuka audibly grumbled. "Is she even _from_ the Laserdiscs? Cause _surely_ she should've known that he _tried_."

H: "She's _in_ him, so surely she could _see_ that he _wanted_ to."

R: "And yet, that was not good enough for her. She would most likely expect Shinji _chip away_ at the Bakelite to get to Unit-01."

S: "By the time I even got a _centimetre_ through that stuff, she would've been dead anyway."

Z: "So this is all due to her _misunderstanding?_ "

K: "I'm sure the myriad of mental issues she _would_ have wouldn't help."

**(103)**

The gathered were all rather off put by the imagery.

A: "No wonder."

E: "It would have... felt like that to you."

Z: "I'd say this imagery was rather... _questionable_ , actually."

R: "It certainly _does_ appear to be... rather violating."

A: "It _is_ them completely eviscerating me. I'd say that _would_ be violating."

H: "You don't seem too... off put by this."

A: "Sure it's _disgusting and makes me want to throw this out the window_ , but I can tell it's _analogy_. An example that _she_ is using to Shinji to convince both him and herself that he _did_ this."

S: "...I'm sure it would be quite effective."

Asuka  **ripped (104)** the page out. "Kaworu?"

K: "Don't mind if I do."

Another pile of ash soon appeared on the table.

A: "Well, _that_ made me feel a bit better, at least."

She glanced to the _new_ page, and that relief was rather short lived. "I _deliberately_ did that?"

H: "How could you do that _anyway_?"

R: "It is not untoward that a _Nephilim_ could do this."

Z: "She _isn't_ , though granted she's _already_ in his mind, isn't she?"

K: "The way _Shinji_ returned made him Nephilim. There's precedent _she_ would be Nephilim as well."

E: "Such a thing _would_ explain a few quirks to her. Of course, since she's _already_ in Shinji, she could merely be tapping off _his_ ability."

S: "So that was all just to get me _back_ , just to suffer _more_."

A: "I imagine you would've _preferred_ being catatonic."

S: "I mean... if I _wasn't_ , at least I could do _something_ to try change things."

_Contemplation_ (105)

A: "A part of me wonders if this part was just an _excuse_ for them to reuse some old art."

R: "It would fit tradition, at least."

Z: "Could be worse. They could be drawing even _worse_ situations you could be in."

K: "Even a seemingly throwaway scene like this can tell us _something_. Even in _this_ state, you seem... troubled."

E: "She is still _Asuka_ , in the end. Makes sense Shinji's state would also affect _her_."

**(106)**

H: "So you got what you wanted from Shinji, all just to terrorise him further."

S: "Figures they won't even let me _rest_."

Z: "Even _here_ , she's still _concerned_ about him?"

A: "I mean... I probably still _like_ him in some way. As we talked about."

K: "Perhaps you are scared he was drifting further from you."

R: "We _know_ she is scared of him drifting from her."

E: "And yet we have _also_ concluded it was _her_ that had caused his collapses in the first place."

H: "It's what she _implied_ , at least."

A: "I mean, I know for a fact she would've seen the more... disturbing scenes."

**(107)**

K: "...Not exactly the disturbing scene we _thought_ it would be."

R: "And yet, I would expect it to be _as_ disturbing for her."

A: "That's... me with our child, isn't it?"

S: "That _wasn't_ just an image? That was what..."

E: "What you wanted."

H: "Most likely what you _still_ want. Of course... in the current situation."

Z: "I imagine they'd want that even _here_ , darling."

**(108)**

A: "...I wouldn't _mind_ that kind of scene. Though even _here_ , that kind of thing is wishful thinking."

R: "That is exactly what _this_ is. Shinji was very much _hopeful_ about this situation."

S: "Obviously _that_ was incorrect." Muttering. "Surely I should've known _something_ would ruin things for me."

K: "You seemed to know that _here_."

A: "That's mainly cause we _knew_ what NERV and everything else could do."

E: "From the looks of it, happiness was _not_ what the former Commander wanted."

Z: "As you guys said, he wanted you _pliable_. Hence why... _everything_ happened."

A: "At least _you_ two _also_ know from experience."

H: "Like _you_ , at least, we were able to overcome whatever greater powers there were."

S: "Even _if_ it resulted in your deaths."

Z: "At the very least, we helped made our world better for _others_. And hey, _this_ world ain't so bad. At least _nowadays_."

A: "You're welcome."

**(109)**

S: "Won't even allow me to _dream_."

E: "If she wants you to _suffer_ , then that would make sense."

Asuka grumbled. "I _hate_ seeing myself like this! How the hell have I be- Y'know what? Stupid question. With all the shit she apparently went through."

K: "It's almost _understandable_ why she is like this."

R: "There is also the question that she might _also_ want this. And this is just her way of denying this aspect of herself."

A: "She _is_ me, after all... As much as I want to distance myself."

Z: "So it's unsurprising why she would _also_ feel this way."

_Path_ (110)

H: "It was to distance Shinji from the _other_ Asuka."

A: "Yeah, _that_ didn't work."

S: "Do I even believe it's you from after Third Impact? Surely I could've chalked this down to a mental issue."

R: "I think you _do_ , otherwise you would not react the way you did."

E: "I'm sure she would inform you incessantly, as well."

K: "All just because she wants _you_. For herself."

Z: "Even to death."

A: "So I've moved from _tsun_ dere to _yan_ dere."

**(111)**

R: "And this is where you decided to torment him further."

E: "To _break_ him further."

S: "Quite an amazing achievement, breaking someone _already_ broken."

H: "We've seen a _lot_ of this already, haven't we? Do we need to see it _again_?"

Z: "What better way to _hammer_ this trauma into you than going through it all over again!"

A: "Our skulls might as well be _powder_ at this point."

**(112)**

K: "Sounds like that's what _this_ Asuka was going for."

E: "Does that imply what she said was _falsehood_?"

A: "Who even _knows_ with this shit. 'Bout the only way this could get _more_ fucked up was if God decided to come down from Heaven above and shit all over us!"

S: "Don't give them any ideas!"

Z: "Surely they wouldn't go _that_ far."

R: "Who even knows at this point."

**(113)**

H: "What do you even _call_ this kind of... I _would_ say relationship."

R: "It is a curious relation. Her every action implies _hatred_ of him, but she clearly continues to _love_ him regardless of this hate."

A: "So she can't decide."

E: "Will she eventually _choose_ which one to go with?"

A: "I doubt it. I think she's too far gone, at this point."

Z: "Well. I doubt things will get _worse_ for her, at least."

S: "This world tends to like _forcing_ you to the bottom of the barrel."

**(114)**

K: "This scene differs, at least."

R: "The post Instrumentality world."

Z: " _Her_ world?"

Nodding. "She didn't take the end of the world that great."

H: "Would _anyone_?"

E: "It's not generally something you _would_ take well."

S: "I mean, we managed alright at least _once_."

A: "Which might as well be the _exception_ at this point."

_Incursion_ (116)

R: "It appears we are returning to the present."

A: "About time."

S: "Not that the present is any _good_."

**(117)**

S: "Speaking of."

H: "Did you not _expect_ him to do that?"

K: "At _this_ point, perhaps she was convinced he would rather die than do _anything_."

E: "Except, I'm sure he knows that Unit-01 is the best place to be to change _something_. Up to and including the _world_."

Z: "Though, if she _is_ a part of you, Shinji. Perhaps _she_ too pines for death, as well."

R: "I would not be surprised. If she had been through this once before, and will most likely go through this once again."

A: "...You just had to take one _look_ at me, when Shinji said I should die with him."

**(118)**

R: "Hence... this reaction."

S: "But, of course, I didn't _care_. Because I wanted to _change_ things."

K: "As all people wish to do. It's a rarity man is actually given such a _massive_ opportunity to change the world."

H: "And I assume Shinji took such an opportunity."

S: "Several times, so far."

A: "Probably several times to come, if _this_ is anything to go by."

Z: "As long as you don't end _this_ world, while we're here, then go for it."

H: "Probably _shouldn't_ be encouraging that."

Z: "Oh it's just _ending the world_ , darling. I'm sure one of _us_ would've done that, if we _could_ and things actually _went_ that far."

E: "You guys _couldn't_ end the world?"

Z: " _Hell no_! How do you even _do_ that?"

A: "You guys should _really_ finish the Laserdiscs."

**(119)**

K: "This is what it boils down to. Fear of _abandonment_."

A: "I mean, there is _precedent_ for that kind of thinking."

R: "At least, according to _her_."

Z: "She _won't_ get abandoned, though. She's _always_ with him."

S: "Even so, I can _choose_ to ignore... her."

E: "As you are doing now."

**(120)**

H: "You're acknowledging her _now_."

A: "He's even _apologising_. That's probably more than she _ever_ expected from him!"

R: "And yet, we have already seen that this was not _enough_ for her."

A: " _Nothing_ is enough for her."

**(122)**

Z: "As before."

E: "This already happened?"

A: "This is essentially a _recap_ , Eliza. Just from my... well, _other_ my perspective."

E: "Huh. So overall, I haven't missed too much."

R: "Lucky for you."

S: "Probably wouldn't call it _luck_."

**(123)**

R: "This Asuka continuously sends mixed messages about _what_ she wants. Does she desire life or death?"

A: "I'm pretty sure we've established the _death seeking_ part."

S: "As long as it's at _her_ hands."

K: "Perhaps she believes that facing the MP-Evangelion will merely result in another loop. No matter the outcome."

E: "If that is what she believes, no wonder she seems averse to such a thing."

Z: "Of course, judging by the... imagery, she has _other_ reasons to be afraid of the MP-Eva."

H: "If it was _that_ traumatising to her..." A grimace.

A: "Yeah, and you have _that_ to look forward to in the Laserdiscs." Muttering. " _I_ would've been violated the same way, if things went even _further_ to shit."

_Your Reality_ (124)

K: "And why _would_ he acknowledge her?"

R: "For all he knows, _this_ Asuka is the real one. Not the one in his mind."

E: "Even _with_ the incessant reminders she often gives him, this is _something_ that won't change."

S: "So it all comes down to me not _accepting_ Asuka?"

A: " _Still_? I feel that's a common thread between whether the world ends or not."

R: "It _is_ a common thread."

H: "The entire fate of the world depends on the relationship between two teens." Like he couldn't believe it.

Z: "Coming from _you_ , darling! Not like _our_ world was any better."

K: "At least in _your_ world, the fate of the world depended on _many_ relationships between two teens."

R: "I am sure _our_ relationship also helped save the world from an unfortunate fate."

A: "Probably even more so, not like _we_ have any special powers other than being able to pilot Evangelion."

**(125)**

R: "It _is_ pining for something she did not have."

A: "Something Shinji gave to the _other_ Asuka."

Z: "No _wonder_ she's vengeful."

A: "I probably _would_ feel a bit ripped off by the universe if I saw that happening. Hell, you can't even blame Shinji, can you?"

S: "Other than how _worse_ I made things, trying to make them better."

K: "I think she refers to you _looping_. But then again, this depends if you _wilfully_ looped back to the past, or it was _unintentional_ , as per Wolk."

E: "I doubt you could _will_ such thing, even if you _were_ Nephilim."

H: "Shinji _is_ Nephilim in this."

R: "But was he Nephilim _before_ he looped?"

Z: "Why are there so many unanswered questions with this!"

S: "Yeah, don't expect any answers."

**(126)**

Rei had a sad look. "...As I stated."

K: "But... she has gone too far. Throughout how ever many iterations of the same few months she has gone through, she has forever changed. She _cannot_ go back."

A: "...Even if she wants to. To just have a clean slate."

S: "Like... the _other_ Asuka."

E: "Hence her reprehension of her other."

Z: " _That's_ where her _hatred_ comes from, I would assume. This... _longing_."

H: "She pines as Shinji does. Except... at least Shinji _has_ an opportunity to accomplish that. She doesn't."

K: "...That goes far to explaining _why_ she is as she is. And why she appears to despise Shinji."

A: "Shit... I _would_ be pretty fucking upset about that."

**(128)**

R: "But this is her reality now. Forever close but always distant to Shinji."

A: " _Hell_."

R: "An apt description."

A: "What the fuck do I do to _deserve_ this kind of thing?!" Fist slammed on table, her fuming anger evident. "I just assumed she was just an _apparition_ , but she _is_ me?"

K: "An iteration of you. Having gone through countless cycles; constantly wearing you down, always holding hope out in front of you like a carrot on a stick. And then quashing it."

E: "No wonder you're like this."

A: "Even _I_ would be like this after an _indefinite_ number of these kinds of loops."

Z: "Jeez, and I thought _Rei_ was fucked over."

R: "I _was_ , but this... is quite extreme."

**(12-**

"No. I've had enough."

Shinji glanced to his other, just as the page was flipped. "Asuka?"

"I'm on a knife's edge, Shinji. If I'm going to read more of this _without_ throwing it through the TV, I will be needing a small... break."

He could see in her eyes just how pained she was.

So he offered small warmth in return, holding her hands with his. "You want to spend some time alone?"

"...Yeah."

"In our room?"

"...I'd like that."

Without a word to the others, they retired.

Leaving them in silence.

Rei and Kaworu could tell just how emotionally charged she was, even through the walls. "...Shall we make our leave?"

"I doubt we can add much to help them." Zero Two lamented.

"When... they are like this. It is usually for the best to give them some quiet time. If... they wanted us to help them, they would say."

"Indeed. They will be fine, by themselves."

The other two could understand. Sometimes it's for the best to leave things to their significant other. They knew that quite well, in fact.

So they got up and began to make their leave.

"...Eliza?"

Eliza had been quiet, eyes locked to the wall that separated the living room from Shinji and Asuka's Lovely Suite, as Misato had dubbed.  "...Curious."

Rei's curiosity too piqued.

Taking station behind Eliza, hands resting on the computer's shoulders, she utilised her sight to glimpse beyond the veil. "What do you see, Eliza."

"...Data. I... am not sure how to interpret it, but... it's like I can... _see_ them. Despite the barrier."

"Do you have an emotion processing daemon?"

"...In my code, it is dubbed the Emotion Engine. A core aspect of the Eliza program in general, it allows me to interpret and spool emotion. However, in... _this_ body, it is not required. The... wetware is more than capable of outclassing this solution, so I have mostly relegated it to background tasks."

"Pipe the data you see into this emotion engine, and tell me the output."

"Give me a few seconds..." Eyes glanced elsewhere, as she crafted the program.  "Run... ning."

"...Eliza?" Rei noticed a few stray tears on her sister, as her field shifted similarly to the two they were observing.

"I... forgot to sandbox it."

"You are feeling what they feel."

"Yes. She... has so much pain, Rei. It's like when I felt... you. I didn't know. But... I don't understand why I can _see_ this."

"Hush, Eliza." But a murmur, as she drew her closer. "What you have is a gift. One that all Nephilim share."

"...A gift?"

"You have what we call the Sense."

* * *

## 3\. Home

The sun was still shining through the curtained windows, but it must've been getting close to dusk, they thought. Not like they otherwise knew how much time had passed, even though it would be easy for them to check.

Asuka gave a small chuckle. "Not the first time I needed... _this_."

"You know I can give you comfort whenever you need it."

"That can be taken quite a few ways, Shin-chan." She noted, a hint of sass in her relatively quiet tone. "But I do appreciate your... comfort."

Holding her closer, as he would usually do. "As I do yours." Melancholic. "...How often have we been in this situation."

"You'd think this was becoming tradition." A small huff. "But... it does help, doesn't it? Just being able to... chill, for a bit."

"Yeah."

A bit more quiet.

And a sigh. "I really shouldn't wallow in my sadness."

"That's more _my_ thing, is it?"

A chuckle, mustering a smile. "Maybe I got that from _you_ , Shin-chan. Still. It's kinda... pointless getting too upset about this. Isn't it?"

"I mean, it didn't even happen."

"Exactly! Which is why _this_ is kinda annoying. I mean, I rather _like_ your comfort and warmth but it's just..."

"Yeah, I know Asuka." Gentle. He knew full well _why_ she was annoyed by this work. "You don't have to say it."

Yet another small pause, Asuka moving a hand up to hold his own. "Do... do you reckon we should read through the rest?"

"We... we should see what the others want to do."

Asuka disengaged his hands from her, and got herself up. "I'll have a look. Maybe seeing me like this will convince them I'm ready."

Timidly looking out from her room, she noticed there was nothing but quiet in the apartment. "Ehh?"

So she looked, golden sunlight illuminating the room. The work was there, where it was last left. Even looking in Pen-Pen's fridge revealed him still sleeping off the grog, and not in any situation to help.

A small chuckle. "I wasn't _that_ bad." She lightheartedly muttered to no one in particular, making her way back to their abode. "Shinji?"

"Y-Yeah?"

"They're gone."

"...They _are_?"

"Yeah. They must've thought we could use the privacy."

"...So... no one's home."

"Yeah, and Misato isn't due to be home for a few hours."

It took him a few seconds to process. "Are you _implying_ something, Asuka?"

She crawled up to him, approaching like a predator. "I'm implying we _use_ this privacy. I could sure as hell use some _love_ after that."

He smirked. "I thought _I_ was meant to be the perverted one."

"You're not _complaining_ about this."

"Why would I?"

"Pervert." She flicked his nose, a brazen grin plastered on. “Gotcha!"

It was then she pounced.

And there was no more talking.

~~~

"So _you two_ have this power as well?"

"Yeah, but we don't really _use_ it too often." Zero Two remarked. "Then again, I somehow managed to get a _stupid_ way of doing it."

"I thought you _liked_ tasting things."

"I like tasting _you_ , darling." Deliberately implicit. "But _now_ I realise strangers don't exactly _prefer_ that kind of physical contact."

"How do _you_ interpret this Sense, Hiro?"

"We _think_ it was touch."

"Didn't I point out touching is rather _vague_ anyway?"

"Then again, I doubt we were ever _meant_ to have these sorts of abilities." Hiro conceded. "We may be _called_ Nephilim, and we may have _some_ special traits." Pointing out his own horns. "But we aren't from this world, after all."

"I think it's amazing we can could use these powers in the _first_ place, darling."

"It could be a side effect of _this_ world, then. If _all_ Nephilim has such an ability."

"I guess that means _you're_ Nephilim as well, Eliza."

A nod.  "Rei already stated I was Nephilim, as her. In a way, this kind of development is... unsurprising."

"It seemingly took you a bit for this ability to manifest, however." Hiro noted. "At least from what _we_ know."

"No, you're correct. I only noticed it today myself. Though... I wonder if what I felt from Rei helped this manifest..."

Trailing slightly behind the three, was Rei and her fish. Her senses perked up from behind her. _'It appears they took the hint.'_

_'You can tell from_ here _?'_

_'I do have a close relation with the two of them. I knew they would need... comfort.'_

_'And you say_ I'm _the pervert.'_ He noted.

_'You are.'_ A small smirk. _'But remember, I am_ Lilith _.'_

_'Ah, so you are_ meant _to be a pervert.'_

She gave a small laugh. _'Not my intended message, but I suppose that works._ You _obviously do not mind this.'_

_'Why would I?'_

Rei gave him a sidewards glance.

_'That was a trap, wasn't it.'_

_'Pervert.'_

He gave a small huff, amused. _'I see Asuka has taught you well.'_

To which she offered a grin.

* * *


	5. ReC 04

* * *

## 1\. Congratulations

Misato once again returned home to a silent household.

She _hated_ returning home to a silent household. Because that _often_ meant the denizens of said household were depressed.

Of course, it could _also_ mean they were simply _elsewhere_. But judging by the _ash piles_ on the tabletop, and the cans of Yebisu in the bin, she could tell her charges were affected _adversely_ by what was read. "God damn it."

A glance to her other. "Suppose it's a good thing I'm _not_ reading this."

The fridge door slid open, and a penguin flopped out.

Letting out a long and tired Wark.

"Sounds like Pen-Pen didn't get the memo."

"I s'pose _that's_ where the Yebisu comes from." Flat as a beer left out too long, going to the bird. "You can be a real pigeon sometimes, y'know." As she ran a hand over the bird.

The Wark he gave didn't really sound insulted, more agreeing with her.

"No beer for the rest of the month, okay mister?"

He whined, but he knew not to cross Misato.

Who simply rolled her eyes, lifting him on his feet. "There you go. I'll get you something once I see the others."

He didn't really acknowledge, instead quickly waddling down the hallway to the bathroom.

"Y'know." Kaji began, who spent the last minute or so mindlessly gawking at the hungover penguin. "The average person would think this rather weird."

"Good thing you're not an average person." A small smile, as she followed a similar path the penguin took, her destination being the room of her pilots.

A few knocks on the sliding door. "Shinji? Asuka?"

No response.

She cracked open the door, getting a peak.

And was immediately met with a flying pen, harmlessly bouncing off the wall next to her. "I see you're busy."

The modesty blanketed Asuka merely gave her a flat stare, which Shinji might've replicated had he not been using said modesty blanket to hide his _whole_ self. "Pervert."

While she shut the door, the conversation continued. "You can put a _sock_ on the door at least."

_"These doors don't_ have _knobs, Misato! Do you expect us to_ nail _a sock to the door?"_

A glance down. "Shit, you're right." But that was getting sidetracked. "I thought you two would _not_ be doing this, considering _what_ must've happened."

_"_ Funny thing, _Misato. I'm sure_ you _would know how great such thing can be for_ comfort _."_

"...Shit, you're right." She repeated. "Are you two... gonna get _modest_?"

_"Well, now that_ you're _here, I suppose we can take a break. What say you, Shinji?"_

No response. Misato assumed he was too embarrassed to speak.

And after a bit of commotion in the room later, Asuka and Shinji emerged, in _some_ sort of modesty. "Though, since it's the weekend, I'm sure we will be _very_ loud tonight. Won't we, Shin-chan?"

Who simply blushed and glanced down.

"Heh. Bashful as ever." Misato coyly remarked.

"You _did_ catch him with his pants down, Misato." As she went to get a soda from the fridge. "So, _other_ than perving on us, what'd ya get up to today?"

Taking out her terminal. "Well, you know full well your folks are reading through _that_ book."

"Do... do you know how they're reacting to it?" Shinji eventually and meekly spoke.

"Nope. Though I'm sure you'll know _how_ they react to it eventually. God knows they'll _tell_ you about it."

Asuka thudded her head on the table. "Mama was _already_ thinking about _that_ kind of thing in Unit-02. This _won't_ make it better."

"So was _mine_." Backed up Shinji.

"Ah ah! Remember what I said, you two!"

"Not until we're 24." Their Israfel training continued to be useful.

"Or I name them, yes. And your mothers aren't gonna stop you."

"They _wouldn't_ stop us."

"Uhh, wrong choice of words. Your mothers aren't gonna... _enable_ you, that's the word."

"I mean, if they knew full well just _what_ it would involve-"

"Don't encourage them, Kaji!"

The pilots found all this rather amusing, which was good considering the previous atmosphere of depression. "Anyway, _other_ than those two things. One of Kaji's _work friends_ found something rather interesting."

She turned her Powerbook around, revealing a grainy images of vague pink and white.

"What are we looking at?"

"SEELE. At least, according to this work friend."

_Both_ Shinji and Asuka's faces fell flat, clearly unamused. "Ah shit, here we go again."

~

The two veterans of Project E had been slowly, but surely, trawling through this work.

With the occasional stop to collect themselves, after something happened.

So far, however, it's been _much_ more preferable than the Laserdiscs. Despite it technically coming _after_ the Laserdiscs. And _still_ screwing over their children.

_""Yes, Misato..." Shinji cut her off softly, "we... we had a child..."."_ The candle's eyes went wide. "Well, now we know for sure why Asuka reacted like that."

"They... a _child_? In _that_ world?"

"I'd say that was a _miracle_. Lord knows the world would've been _completely_ fucked."

"And yet... they made it their own. And found love."

Kyoko was rather amused at the prospect. "Tells you a lot about the _Laserdisc_ world when they're having a better time during the _apocalypse_. Still, that's pretty _young_ for having a child, isn't it? Surely not _that_ much time has passed between the end of the world and... that."

" _I_ was pretty young when I had Shinji."

"Then again, you made it sound like you did that _because_ of Second Impact."

She gave a glare, and glanced down to the work. "Maybe _that's_ why."

"I don't think it was _intentional_. _I_ certainly wouldn't be thinking about such thing in an _apocalypse_."

"It probably _wasn't_. Not like _protection_ would exist during an apocalypse."

"Fair point." Conceding. "You wanna continue reading it?"

A glance to the clock. "Might as well see what happens. It's an apocalypse chapter, isn't it?"

"Sure looks like it."

And so they began reading.

~~~

Asuka and Shinji were awoken by the buzzing of the doorbell.

"They're here already?" Shinji sleepily muttered.

She checked her phone. "It _is_ around the same time they came _yesterday_ , so cut them _some_ slack." As she got up. "Maybe they just thought we wouldn't have tired ourselves out."

Thus she went to answer the door.

With grand grins and a glint in their eyes, was _her_ mama and _Shinji's_ mama.

It took Asuka all of five seconds to figure out _why_ they were here, and _what_ happened last night with Wolk's work and would you look at that, she's become a tomato. "Oh no."

"Congratulations!"

"MAMA!"

~~~

The Nephilim soon arrived at the den of trauma that was the apartment of Shinji and Asuka.

"Curious."

A smirk. "You see it too."

They soon entered.

And _all_ laughed at the sight, _both_ Asuka and Shinji as red as Asuka's hair as both parents part gushed, part lectured their children. "Rei, save us, I beg you." Shinji pleaded.

"No." A grin, clearly enjoying their auras.

"You've got very good friends, Asuka." Her mother noted, as they began to make their leave. "I'm guessing we don't want to read through _this_ , based on how Misato's reacted to it."

"You _haven't_?"

Shaking their heads. "We gave the Non-H one to Misato, and Ritsuko was dealing with the... _other_ copies."

"...We saw _parts_ of it, and decided it would _not_ be what we want to read."

"That's... fair enough." Shinji conceded, still beet faced.

"Oh well, I'd _say_ have fun." Kyoko began, "But I believe _good luck_ is more in order."

"Gee, thanks."

And so they left.

The two pilots just looked at the Nephilim, silent.

"I see where you get your attitude from, Asuka."

"L-lets just read through the rest of this..."

* * *

# 2\. Re-Take: Volume 04

Note: Page numbers refer to the LAST THIRD of VOLUME 02 of the NON-H version (starting from page 128), roughly corresponding to VOLUME 04 of the H version. 

Character Key:

Shinji (S) Asuka (A)

Rei (R) Kaworu (K) Eliza (E)

Hiro (H) Zero Two (Z)

_Ugly and Beautiful World_ (128)

K: "We were here last time?"

A: "Yeah."

**(13-**

R: "Wait a minute. The... other you. The one in the gown. She _sees_ the _other_ Asuka."

A: "...Well shit, she _does_."

Z: "Is this just another thing we need to add on to the pile of 'Things we don't know'?"

K: "It is indeed a curiosity. Ostensibly, this Asuka should be imperceivable to _anyone_ other than Shinji."

S: "And yet... she sees her."

E: "Not just that. Offering _support_ to her. Even in her broken state."

A: "With all that's happened, I'm somehow _less_ broken than my counterpart."

H: "Even with your mind wiped. Was it a wipe?"

R: "I do not think so. Merely a _breaking_."

K: "But as with anything you can break, you can put it back _together_. Even if it were to be imperfect compared to before."

S: "...Do you reckon _I'll_ have to do that?"

Z: "I mean, you _already_ tried it."

S: "Try _harder_ , then."

**(130)**

E: "I assume this is what you mean by _trying harder_."

S: "If _my_ mind isn't broken by this whole shit, that is."

A: "At least there is _one_ thing that has improved from the Laserdiscs. I'm still _alive_ , so you have something to _fight_ for."

R: "Even in a relatively _light_ work like Wolk's, _you_ were the only thing anchoring him, Asuka."

S: "At least _here_ , I have _many_ anchors."

K: "I would say we _all_ do."

Z: "Which I would say is _good_ , cause y'all sound like you can _all_ end the world at the drop of a hat."

A: "That's not inaccurate."

H: "Judging from _this_ , I'd say the same thing."

K: "Remember that Shinji in _this_ situation is _firmly_ at a disadvantage. Very much akin to _Asuka_ , in the Laserdiscs."

E: "No S2, an incursion even _more_ damaging than even the Laserdiscs. The _only_ thing you have going for you is that you are Nephilim."

R: "To be fair, that is a _decent_ advantage. A stronger Nephilim would not even _need_ an Evangelion." A glance to Kaworu.

K: "Evangelion might even be a _disadvantage_ to a strong Nephilim. Just another filter and barrier in the way of your ability. Think Lordgenome."

Z: "I don't know _who_ that is but okay."

**(132)**

A: "Here come the harpies." She spat. "God I hope you don't get _fucked_ like I did."

K: "Even going by standard narrative convention, he most likely won't die."

S: "I'd say our lives weren't a story, but I've already been disproven on that."

Z: "Just look at _us_ , Shinji."

H: "Our show might as well be a _biography_."

E: "Either way, as long as Shinji maintains this determination."

R: "Then he will win."

A: "Considering you seemed to take a hint from _Gurren Lagann_ , Shinji."

**(134)**

E: "Already on battery, as well."

A: "That's a _bold move_ , Shinji. Let’s see if it pays off."

R: "Do you think you _know_ about the MP-Evangelion's ability?"

S: "I would _hope_ I knew that by _now_."

H: "I wonder if SEELE are _still_ planning on using Unit-01, since it doesn't have an S2."

Z: "Did they do so _here_?"

R: "Unit-01's status as _sole_ Lilith based Evangelion would have held some significance to SEELE, regardless if it possessed a Solenoid or not."

K: "Most certainly. If Lilith herself were to become compromised, as was planned in the Laserdiscs, Unit-01 could substitute. The Instrumentality as we see in the Laserdiscs is, in fact, largely due to _both_ SEELE and the Commander's plans colliding."

H: "...There's _multiple_ ways to end the world."

A: "Have we not made that _evident_?"

K: "Indeed. The Commander's plan was to use Lilith, Rei and Adam to begin Instrumentality. SEELE's plan was to use the MP-Evangelion's Solenoids, alongside Lilith _or_ Unit-01, to jumpstart it."

R: "And I hijacked _both_ plans."

Z: "...And the world _still_ ended."

S: "I... wasn't in a good headspace."

E: "I'd say that's putting it lightly."

_Attack on Eva_ (136)

Z: "I'd say you're off to a good start, considering your weaponry."

A: "You know the MP-Eva can _regenerate_ , right?"

Z: "I do _now_."

S: "I certainly have the _spirit_."

R: "But will that be enough?"

E: "And are you minding your power?"

K: "If battery even _matters_ to someone on the level as Shinji."

**(137)**

A: "Not bad, Shinji. That was a pretty decent dodge."

H: "He appeared to gain an upper hand on at least _one_ of them, as well."

R: "We established they had a tendency to _play_ with their quarry."

K: "At least when _they_ have an upper hand."

S: "Which they _still do_. Despite what I'm _trying_."

**(138)**

A: "... _Or_ , Unit-01 can just decide to _fuck_ you again."

R: "Remember, the resident soul of Unit-01 _wanted_ an Instrumentality."

E: "At least they explained _why_ Unit-00 hasn't been deployed."

K: "If the Commander is pursuing his own plan, then Rei would be AWOL anyway."

H: "Well, if _Rei's_ not there and Shinji's out there, the _only_ pilot they have now is Asuka."

A: "Yeah, I doubt I'm in a piloting mood."

S: "At least Misato _cares_ for us a bit more. My father was there, he'd probably expect _everyone_ in an Evangelion."

Z: "Even if they _couldn't_?"

A: "If _that_ was the case, he'd probably give me a _stick_ to fight the JSSDF off."

S: "If my sync keeps falling like they _say_ it is, it might as well _be_ like I had a stick."

_Because I Had Danced_ (139)

H: "That's... the tank."

K: "One of the key aspects of the Commander's plan."

Z: "It's actually quite an _amazing_ achievement, if you discount all the shit that comes with it."

A: "You could say that about _everything_ involving NERV."

R: "Thing is, we _still_ have that."

S: " _Really_? I would've expected _someone_ to take a golf club to it."

R: "While _I_ would not mind that, even I can see it still has _some_ use. Even discounting the brain uploading aspect, it can be used to heal injuries in _hours_ what it would take _weeks_."

E: "I believe my mama used that one time."

A: "I wouldn't be surprised if Rei had to use it _several_ times."

R: "Hence my... distaste for that machine. Evidently, my shells were not disposed of."

K: "Perhaps that is what the Commander is planning."

R: "I would not be surprised. They are no longer required, at this point in time."

**(140)**

She grumbled at the sight. "I do not like being right sometimes."

K: "He sees your point, then. No point keeping them around if the world will end in the next half hour or so."

E: "They might even _conflict_ with his plan."

S: "I thought you _didn't_ mind this happening to your... clones."

R: "I do not. Only... the Commander doing this gives it a new meaning."

Z: "...Aren't you, like, his _daughter_ or something?"

R: "It is a bit more complicated than that."

A: "Still as _weird_."

R: "If he _did_ do anything like that... well. You would know. And he would be paste on the walls."

H: "Who is this _other_ , then."

**(141)**

Z: "Well, there's your answer, darling."

A: "Is she _still_ working for him? Jesus fucking _Christ_ girl, does she _not see_ he gives her the runaround?"

R: "She most likely never _realised_."

E: "I overheard my mama talking about _how_ she first realised. Though I believe I should _not_ tell you."

S: "You already have more self control than _most_ of us."

H: "He _does_ seem to believe _something_ like what you said."

K: "No point keeping any loose threads. They are no longer useful, not _this_ deep into the endgame."

Z: "Do you think she has... _something_ to stop this?"

R: "She _might_. If she will, she is being more subtle about it this time around."

_Loose Thread_ (142)

A: "If he's tying up all his threads, why the hell are you at your _apartment_?"

R: "I would not know. I would have expected to be _close_ to him at this point in time."

K: "We know in _Wolk's_ iteration of the Incursion, your absence... greatly affected his plan."

Z: "Shame he doesn't have any more of those clones of you." She wryly pointed out.

Rei found it amusing, at least. "Even if he _could_ , the soul of Rei Ayanami would not be there. It would simply be a shell."

E: "So it's understandable _why_ he did such thing, even in your absence."

S: "I wouldn't be surprised if he was _expecting_ you to show up."

H: "I don't know _how_ he'd expect that, considering NERV is _under siege_."

R: "Either way, it is clear I am _still_ rather... undecided about it."

S: "...Considering how we were like to you, I wouldn't be surprised if you sided with my father."

**(143)**

R: "I... would not be too sure of that. Even _with_ what happened, I still love you."

A: "I'm guessing we're still on the lines of _working relationship_."

Z: "At least you _wanted_ to be more friendly with her."

K: "Rei probably doesn't even know Asuka is _alive_."

E: "I'd say just this _image_ serves to remind how Shinji didn't go for _her_."

R: "One could certainly _see_ it like that."

S: "...I wonder who this visitor could be, then."

H: "Armed forces, perhaps."

A: "Wouldn't _that_ be the cherry on top."

**(144)**

R: "I did not expect _him_ to be around."

A: "I mean, he's not _dead_."

Z: "Thanks for jinxing it."

E: "If you didn't know Asuka was alive, you sure do _now_."

K: "You don't even need a Sense to see how you _feel_ , Rei."

H: "Why did they just send _one_ person to get you?"

S: "Kaji's pretty decent at dealing with this stuff."

A: "Considering he got himself _killed_ in the Laserdiscs, I'd say using Kaji is a crapshoot."

**(145)**

Kaworu had a small smile. "I see you've made your decision."

S: "...Still gunning for _us_."

R: "...As I said."

E: "Of course, you would have to go to the Geofront anyway, for _either_ decision."

R: "There is _that_ , admittedly."

Z: "So you're not calling it _just_ yet?"

A: "I mean, _considering_. We're _both_ kinda in the same ballpark, with how we treated Rei. Which I _hate_."

_Fourth_ (146)

S: "...I keep forgetting _Toji's_ the pilot this time around."

R: "Even in this situation, his sister takes priority."

A: "He's kinda sweet like that, credit where credit's due."

E: "Would he _know_ the dire situation he is currently in?"

K: "I wouldn't _think_. I doubt he's been told much."

H: "Not like he even _has_ an Evangelion to pilot."

S: "The simple fact he's even _walking_ mean this has _already_ gone better for him. At least _someone_ got a better deal in this."

**(147)**

A: "Does he even _know_ how to use a computer?"

S: "I've seen him play solitaire on his terminal one time."

A: "Ah, he's more experienced than _90%_ of the people on Earth!"

E: "End users aren't _that_ bad."

Z: "Even so, something like _that_ would be beyond someone like _him_ , I imagine."

H: "Then again, it's just a _hospital_. Surely it wouldn't be _that_ complicated."

R: "Depends on _what_ hospital it is. If it is the _Geofront_ hospital-"

K: "I'm sure if it _was_ , we would know from the sheer _carnage_ going on."

E: "This is most likely a honeypot either way."

Z: "Honey?"

E: " _Bait_. Something that tempts and lures someone or something in, so they could be caught."

Z: "...Why _honeypot_ though?"

Eliza shrugged.  "It's the nomenclature."

**(148)**

The lights went out.

H: "Well that's not good."

E: "Odds of it being a honeypot now 60%."

**(149)**

E: "100%."

A: "Literally _raining on his parade_."

Z: "Why _did_ the fire suppression go off, anyway?"

R: "Irony, perhaps."

S: "It's probably something to do with said carnage but yeah, cosmic irony works just as well."

K: "At least it is a honeypot he would _want_ to get trapped in. NERV does _not_ want to kill him, at least."

**(150)**

A: "I'm rather surprised they _can_ put up a fight, considering."

S: "I'm sure Kensuke would gush over the JSSDF if he were here."

R: "I am sure him seeing them going up against his _friends_ would put a damper on things."

H: "At least they _can_ fight. We were pretty much _done_ if they were deployed on our world."

Z: "They were kinda incompetent, darling. _Almost_ every time we faced them, we were able to get away with things."

K: "I recall a _couple_ times they had the upper hand in your world."

R: "All at possibly the _worst_ possible opportunities."

Shrugging.

_Dogma_ (151)

E: "If _he_ gets his way, they won't _have_ a while."

R: "He still has the Lance, as well."

K: "I am sure he will put that to _great_ use."

S: "He's still missing a _few_ pieces, though."

**(152)**

H: "Looks like he's will _keep_ missing that piece."

A: "She's the _one_ piece in his plan that's _required_ , right Rei?"

R: "Hence why he kept me _here_."

Z: "I doubt he's long for this world, then."

S: "Depends how my father thinks of this."

K: "The Commander _does_ appear to be revealing Adam, however. Perhaps he still plans on following through."

E: "How could he?"

A: "Oh I'm sure he'd find a way _somehow_."

**(153)**

Kaworu had braced himself for seeing his progenitor, but it was for naught. "...Where's father?"

R: "He is most certainly _not_ with the Commander this time around."

A: "Kaworu has a point, _where_ is Adam? Progenitors don't just go _missing_ like that, do they?"

S: "I mean, _Kaji_ must've gotten it here _somehow_."

E: "He surely cannot pursue his plan. Why _is_ he down there?"

A: "I reckon he was hoping Rei would come down, regardless. To do _what_ , I don't really know."

R: "It would not be for Instrumentality. We know _that_ much, at least."

H: "...You call Adam _father_ , Kaworu?"

K: "Well, I ought to give respect to my progenitor."

H: "Huh. Fair enough."

Z: "I think it's clear _what_ you decided, Rei."

R: "...I would think so."

**(154)**

S: "Seems my father has come to the same conclusion."

K: "His plan has tumbled down around him. Even _with_ events going differently."

Z: "Going _worse_. Somehow that all resulted in at least _his_ plan failing. Don't know _how_."

A: "At this point, _we_ wouldn't know as well."

R: "He appears to be taking it better than in Wolk's rendition."

A: "Is that really a _good_ thing?"

E: "I wonder if Lilith herself is _injured_. That appears to be _blood_."

R: "An oddity. As Lilith bleeds _LCL_."

Zero Two quickly reached a horrifying conclusion. "... _WHAT_?!"

A: "Yeah, you get used to it as a pilot."

_Vault_ (155)

Z: "...I wonder if you see the full extent."

R: "Even as I am... I would not be surprised."

S: "At least... you're all safe."

A: "While you're fighting the MP-Eva yourself. _Surely_ your batteries would've ran out by _now_."

K: "Narrative convenience is a wonderful thing."

E: "Of course, we know Shinji has... ability. I imagine _that_ would help increase his range."

**(156)**

H: "...If you didn't see the full extent _before_."

A: "I wonder why _he_ knows, at least _that_ much."

R: "The way he made it sound like, that information is as much as he _needs_ to know, and nothing more."

S: "Not like _you'd_ know as much, Rei."

R: "Considering I did not even know she was _alive_ , until Kaji told me."

E: "You would still have a _connection_ with her, surely."

R: "I _think_ I would. Even just seeing her _alive_ again would provoke immense emotion within me."

K: "You can even _see_ this emotion."

A: "...Do you think _you_ can do something? Since Shinji's... busy."

R: "...I could _try_."

**(157)**

Asuka sighed. "Even _with_ you trying, I don't think you could fix this."

Rei gave a subtle glance to Hiro. "I have seen worse."

E: "Do we even know if you have... power? I don't recall seeing such thing manifest in you."

K: "There's still things she could _try_. Even if she wasn't able to delve into the mind."

Z: "What _could_ you try, then?"

R: "...Well, let us see."

**(158)**

They felt touched at the gesture. "It would be... as much as I could do right now."

A: "...I'm sure I would appreciate that."

S: "At least... _she_ might."

Asuka grimaced. "Yeah, what would my _other_ think of this? Unless she's up with Shinji."

H: "With how Shinji was so eager to get in the Evangelion, I doubt your other would even want to _talk_ with him."

_Another_ (159)

Z: "As you suggested, darling."

S: "Though it appears I don't _need_ her putting me down."

E: "Why is it that Shinji's ability has these sizeable peaks and troughs?"

R: "If his ability is dictated through his _determination_ , as in Gurren Lagann, then that _could_ explain it."

K: "Not to mention the _stress_ of being the only Evangelion to face the MP-Eva. I could _also_ imagine it is a similar situation to the _Laserdiscs_ , where Shinji could not so much as _fight_ the MP-Eva."

A: "Of course, Shinji's mama might be affecting a few things as well."

R: "If _she_ wants Instrumentality..."

**(160)**

H: "If you get your way, then there might not _be_ an Instrumentality."

R: "I have made my decision."

S: "It probably won't be _wise_ for Toji to get in the way of you, then."

A: "Lest he becomes a _puddle_."

Z: "Will he, though?"

S: "Knowing Toji, probably not."

**(161)**

K: "I wonder how he plans on convincing you to stay."

R: "He cannot. Not at this point."

E: "Even _if_ it may end in your death, it's your decision."

A: "And I'm sure Rei could hold her own, even _now_."

S: "Toji wouldn't know _that_. He'd just see you as helpless, I imagine."

A: "I wonder what _Hikari_ would think of that. Where _is_ Hikari, anyway? I don't think I've seen her in _ages_."

R: "If everyone was evacuated at this point, it makes sense why she would not be here. She has a family, after all."

**(162)**

Very much akin to a Zippo lighter, Kaworu's eyes flared.

A: "What the _fuck_ , Toji!"

E: "I don't think this will prove to be an effective method of convincing you."

R: "It would prove an effective method of making him a _puddle_."

S: "Jeez, good thing _Hikari_ isn't here."

R: "I know for a fact if she saw this, _Hikari_ will be the one turning him into a puddle."

Z: "What do you mean by _turning into a puddle_?"

A: "She means _popping them like a balloon_ and letting them _soak into the carpet_."

Z: "...Is that a Nephilim thing?"

K: "Yes."

Z: "...Kick _ass_!"

_Box_ (163)

H: "I see you're taking Zero Two's advice."

A: "Good. You're not just taking it."

R: "Not to mention he practically said Shinji's life did not matter."

E: " _That_ would be a good way to rile you up."

S: "I think it _has_. And I _know_ she can do this."

K: "I don't recall Rei ever full on _socking_ you in the head."

A: " _You_ would, I imagine."

K: "In her defence, it was mostly body punches. Into trees."

Z: "And I thought _our_ relationship was odd."

R: "Do not worry, Zero Two. I stopped being _overly_ violent with my fish."

She simply gave her a flat stare.

**(164)**

A: "Great, you're in a _punching match_ with Toji."

R: "All the while spurting off our own philosophical views. While I can _understand_ his point of view, he should understand why _I_ would want to protect Shinji."

S: "He wouldn't _allow_ you to die. For all _he_ knows, you're just a regular girl."

Z: "One that holds her own against him, that ought to show _something_."

E: "And all the while, the _other_ Asuka is watching on."

A: "To give me _some_ credit, she's just as shocked as _I_ am."

H: "I don't think she _expected_ this kind of reaction from _either_ of them. Suzuhara _hitting_ Rei is bad enough, but her _fighting back_? All because she wants to _help_ Shinji?"

K: "I imagine that _would_ deeply affect you. Even in your other's mental state."

S: "It wouldn't help this is just about as good as an unstoppable force coming up against an immovable object."

**(165)**

S: "Toji. Do you _really_ want to test her?"

A: "I always knew he'd get a Darwin Award somehow."

E: "All the while, the incursion continues."

Z: "If _your_ Evangelion is destroyed, then it wouldn't even _matter_. Would it?"

R: "I am sure I could still do _something_ , without my Evangelion."

H: "I can at least see _why_ he would have this point of view."

R: "He is truthful, as well. I _would_ most likely die in my attempt."

K: "But you would still _try_."

A: "Well, she's trying right _now_ , with Toji."

_Unstoppable Force_ (166)

S: "Of course _they_ know."

A: "Why wouldn't they? They _would_ want to surveil the pilots in _this_ situation."

R: "It would not be good for NERV to have their two remaining pilots _fighting to the death_."

Z: "I'd think that's the _least_ of NERV's worries right now."

K: "I wouldn't be surprised if Misato herself fights through the fire and flames just to stop you two from fighting."

E: "If _someone_ doesn't interfere."

**(167)**

A: "Man I _hate_ seeing myself like that."

H: "All the while, you two are _still_ fighting."

R: "I made my decision."

E: "I wonder if your _other_ has made a decision, Asuka."

A: "Considering I can somehow _see_ her."

K: "You seem... rather injured, Rei."

R: "I am relatively... dainty. Especially compared with someone like Toji."

Z: "And even so, you still _fight_ him."

**(168)**

R: "...Though it is clear I am _barely_ doing anything to him."

A: "My other knows this a- hang on since when could _you_ see her?"

K: "Since _now_."

E: "And _continuing_ to hold your opinion of Shinji."

S: "I imagine _that_ would be kinda hard to shake, at this point."

Z: "I don't think _her_ words would be enough to convince _you_ , though."

R: "I would not expect as much."

**(169)**

R: "For that reason. I promised you, Asuka."

A: "...You did. I don't think _she_ realised that."

K: "Until _now_."

S: "Do... you think she'll side with you, then?"

R: "Odds are, this will result in her hating me _more_."

H: "Surely she would _respect_ this decision? It's a promise, after all."

A: "I doubt it." She derided.

**(170)**

R: "Thing is, I do not _need_ her respect. I made _her_ that promise."

E: "Surely _that_ would convince her, then."

A: "I would _hope_. It _was_ me that made her promise, after all."

K: "You can see in your eye, you are _conflicted_."

A: "I've been conflicted before. But I've _always_ made the... poor decision."

S: "Then again, _she_ might not see it as a poor decision. Considering... she doesn't really _like_ me."

R: "Even in _this_ state. The person that _continues_ to be precious to you is _Shinji_. Even if you outwardly _despise_ him."

A: "...I wonder if she realises this."

_Berserker_ (172)

Z: "Ain't _that_ handy."

S: "If _you_ can't get to Unit-00, then Unit-00 will come to _you_."

E: " _Somewhat_ akin to the Laserdiscs. Only with Unit-00 instead of Unit-01."

R: "An Evangelion would help against Toji, admittedly."

A: "Not that it'll help _NERV_ , I imagine."

H: "This would just be _another_ headache."

K: "I... would not have expected the resident soul of Unit-00 to _want_ to help you."

R: "...That _is_ true."

**(173)**

E: "Either way, they _are_ at least _appearing_ to help you."

A: "I'd say Toji was lucky Unit-00 did _not_ pound him into the dirt."

R: "I am sure she would have _wanted_ to."

K: "Looks like Toji won't get what he wanted, either way."

**(174)**

A: "... _I_ bought it for you?"

R: "...I would say that was even _more_ of a miracle."

H: "She made it clear she's rather... _reluctant_."

K: "I find it odd she can _control_ an Evangelion anyway."

E: "Akin to _you_ , in the Laserdiscs."

K: "...Just so."

S: "So is this Asuka _separate_ from me, or is she still a part of me?"

A: "I don't think we'll ever know the specifics of this, Shinji."

Z: "At least... you're giving her what she wanted. Even _if_ you believe it'll kill her."

**(176)**

R: "I do not care about my potential death, at this point. Not with Toji, not with this Asuka."

E: "And... not against the MP-Evangelion."

R: "Indeed. At this stage, I most likely do not _know_ of the MP-Evangelion."

S: "But... that won't stop you."

**(177)**

K: "It will not."

S: "Especially in a battle as significance as... _this_."

A: "It's only the fate of the world."

R: "I am sure Shinji would not mind the backup."

**(178)**

S: "Gods know I need it."

H: "I'm amazed you lasted _this_ long. How much time must've passed between all this?"

K: "Determination goes a long way."

E: "And Shinji would have a _lot_ of it, at this point."

_Shutdown_ (179)

R: "As... we would expect. They were not damaged."

S: "...Seems I _still_ don't know about the MP-Eva's... abilities."

A: "Does... that mean _you're_ gonna get fucked by them?"

S: "I think that was... kinda evident from the start."

**(180)**

Asuka cringed at the sight. "God... damn it."

H: "...That was what happened to you?"

A: "...In the Laserdiscs, at least. But... it was still..."

E: "And now it's Shinji experiencing this."

K: "...In the same scenario as Asuka, in the Laserdiscs."

S: "I... suppose this is just par for the course. _That_ world has fucked me from the very start, why not fuck me some _more_."

R: "Either way. I do not think they will simply... end you, as they did with Unit-02."

K: "Unit-01 is too important to SEELE."

Z: "...So what happens _now_?"

K: "...I imagine Instrumentality."

E: "With how things have gone, I can see that as a possibility."

**(182)**

R: "And here come the predators."

Z: "...You won't just _stop_ , right Shinji?"

S: "... _Asuka_ didn't last too much longer after _she_ was defeated by them."

A: "You are _exactly_ in my situation."

E: "In the _other_ Asuka's situation, as well. This would be _exact_ to what _she_ experienced."

K: "...Perhaps that will allow her to _empathise_ with Shinji."

**(183)**

H: "And... yet you still try."

S: "I might as well be dead, anyway. No point in _not_ trying."

Z: "You kinda _have_ to have that attitude as a pilot."

A: "It _is_ something we're good at, not giving up."

K: "I know at least _one_ of my kin would've been disappointed if humanity did not put up a fight."

**(184)**

The mood shifted rather quickly, as they realised _who_ just pulled a big damn hero moment. "Rei!"

Rei, too, had a smirk. "Even after _all_ that had happened."

Z: "Damn, Rei. You're a pretty good shot at that."

E: "The benefits of having one eye."

H: "Looks like you got some _really_ good damage on them."

S: "They can still _regenerate_ , remember. Unless you get the S2."

Z: "I mean _surely_ that would put that in the dirt, even _if_ it could regenerate."

K: "It depends if that shot hit the Solenoid, after all."

A: "Well let's hope it _did_. One less of those harpy fucks to deal with."

**(186)**

K: "It seems it _has_ been destroyed. At least, according to them."

A: "Good! Great job, Rei!"

R: "Thank you." A small smile. "It was to protect Shinji, after all."

Z: "Sounds like you'd do _anything_ to protect him."

R: "I would. And everyone else I love."

S: "Still, Misato has a point. _How_ did the positron rifle get set up that quickly?"

E: "I think her thoughts are accurate. _Someone_ must've known it was unviable."

H: "The _only_ someone it could be would be the _Commander_." He too posited.

R: "Considering his plan was doomed to fail regardless."

_Terminal_ (187)

R: "...Another soul?"

Z: "It's what Rits said."

K: "It's understandable _why_ he would not believe such a thing. Why _would_ the soul be different?"

A: "Sounds like there _is_ a God, cause that's the _only_ explanation I would have for how _screwed_ his plan got."

S: "The Gods actually _helping_ us for once?"

A: "I know, right?"

E: "But this raises _another_ significant question. _Who_ is occupying Unit-01 now?"

R: "That is a question we cannot answer."

S: "...Though without mum in Unit-01 now."

H: "...She is who drove him?"

Shinji gave a nod.

H: "...Then he has no purpose in this world." A chilling echo.

**(188)**

R: "...It seems he believes this."

K: "He and Ritsuko also appear to believe he cannot redeem himself. Not after what happened."

A: " _Would we_ forgive him for all the ways he's _fucked_ us?"

H: "I can tell simply from your _tone_ the answer is _no_."

Z: "Yeah that question is as rhetorical as they come."

E: "I find it odd how she has such an... amicable relation with him."

K: "It _can_ be odd, seeing someone you know, or even _yourself_ , with someone _else_."

S: "It's all just par for the course, at this point. Considering how... _different_ things have been."

R: " _One_ constant has been a relation between _you two_ , Shinji and Asuka."

A: "You essentially guaranteed this universe will give us a world where I get with someone like _Toji_."

R: "Apologies."

**(189)**

K: "Is... he _dying_ , perhaps."

E: "...And mama's by his side."

R: "Even someone like _him_ should not have to die alone. He had at least _that_ much in our world."

A: "I dunno. Maybe if _I_ was the one pulling the trigger."

R: "That was probably why you were in your Evangelion."

H: "If he _is_ dying... what _is_ killing him?"

Z: "Maybe _she_ did it."

S: "I don't think he'd be as... _friendly_ with the person who killed him, if that was the case."

K: "...It could be a side effect of the loss of Adam. Of course, combined with the way all his plans had collapsed around him, he could've lost his will to live."

R: "Either way... he is clearly passing the torch to Ritsuko."

**(190)**

A: "...Of course, a gunshot wound would do the job, as well."

_'...This is... strangely reminiscent of_ our _world.'_

_'I believe I was out cold during this event. Due to... that.'_

_'...He did not last_ this _long.'_

E: "That... couldn't have been self inflicted, right?"

K: "He would know full well how to effectively take his own life."

S: " _Who_ shot him, then?"

H: "I don't think Akagi would shoot him, at least not in _this_ work."

Z: "It couldn't have been Kaji as well, cause _he_ was sent to get Rei. Unless he came back just to _shoot_ him."

A: "I can _see_ him doing that, but if he _were_ to do that, he'd just shoot him _dead_ , _then_ get Rei."

K: "...Of course, the way Ritsuko makes it out. It _could_ be self inflicted."

E: "...Even _here_ , it is unrequited."

**(191)**

Despite the truth of _their_ world, the group regardless felt moved.

R: "...But it is clear she still loved him."

K: "She never had her heart broken by him. Despite being mostly unrequited. Love... can be odd, like that."

S: "...Even though he would never love her as much as she did... my mum."

H: "I... think he still cared for Akagi. At least... in this. I'm not too sure what the situation between them was _here_."

E: "...Not as amicable. To say the least."

_Centre Target, Pull Switch_ (192)

A: "...Still going at it, Rei."

R: "It is not over _yet_."

H: "You _seem_ to be making good progress, at least."

K: "Even though we shouldn't underestimate the MP-Evangelion."

S: " _We_ did, at least once we knew _how_ to attack them."

A: "I honestly think the _first_ batch of MP-Eva we faced were _smarter_ than the later ones."

K: "That would make sense. I'm sure the facilities used to construct the _later_ MP-Evangelion were not only _not_ up to scratch, but the _quicker_ rate at which they had to get put out would certainly hurt quality."

A: "Ah, they went for the _Soviet_ route."

Z: "Sounds almost like the _Franxx_. At least the ones that weren't _ours_."

E: "I've only really faced the MP-Evangelion in the _simulator_ , so I can't really judge."

A: "The sim ones aren't _that_ far off from the _post-Incursion_ model."

**(193)**

E: "Oh that energy spike isn't good."

R: "I am rather amazed they managed to get the positron rifle up to _this_ spec, with the minimal amount of time between Shinji's return and the incursion."

S: "...Almost like he _knew_ it was doomed to failure, this time around."

K: "At least _his_ plan was."

Z: "What's that _spike_ , though? Maya seems concerned about it."

H: "Bit of an _understatement._ "

K: "Perhaps the MP-Evangelion are attempting to follow through with the original plan. Considering their brethren are falling."

**(194)**

E: "That would be the energy spike."

A: "OH _FUCK OFF_!"

Z: "Even _that_ is not enough?!"

Rei grumbled. "It appears I did not aim for the Solenoid."

S: "So that's me done then." He conceded.

K: "I believe _this_ is why Misato emphasised you _kill_ them and _make sure of it_."

H: "Surely _vaporising_ them was making sure of it."

A: "Those fuckers aren't dead until you remove the plug, destroy the core and S2, and _drain their blood into the streets_."

S: "The last part is optional, but very much preferred."

R: "Not by the Commanders."

A: "Maybe not, but _I_ enjoy it."

Z: "Jeez, I don't even think _I_ was that bloodthirsty."

K: "It comes with the job."

R: "Either way, this does not bode well for _either_ of us."

S: "At least, they'll go for _me_ first."

**(195)**

K: "They will begin the ceremony, at this point."

Z: "...Ceremony?"

K: "Instrumentality."

E: "There is a surprising amount of decorum required for essentially _ending the world_."

R: "At least the way _SEELE_ wanted."

S: " _I_ tend to end the world _without_ regard for such thing."

H: "You know that's not something to be proud of."

A: " _I_ think it is. Kind of. It's pretty fucked he has to end the world to _begin_ with, but as we said _countless_ times. If _he_ gets to a point where he _does_ want to end the world, _we're all_ at that stage anyway."

Z: "So... what do you think of _this_ world?" Pointing to the work.

She thought. "Well. I'm alive, technically. Rei is too, at least _here_. Misato and Kaji are _also_ still alive. All our friends as well, at least I'd _hope_. Sure that world has _fucked_ us, but then again so has _this_ one."

Z: "...That's a _no_?"

A: " _Conditionally_. As long as no one gets fucked."

S: "I think _I'm_ about to get fucked." He flatly pointed out.

**(196)**

S: "Eeyup."

R: "I do not think _I_ am out of the woods yet, as well."

A: "You still have a _gun_ , at least."

Z: "An unwieldy one."

H: "One that requires the Evangelion to be _immobile_ , if I remember correctly."

E: "There was _also_ a portable design, but with significantly less power."

K: "Of course, the MP-Evangelion _know_ you are there, Rei. They would hold no quarter against _you_."

_No Quarter_ (197)

Rei gave Kaworu a glare, upon seeing Shinji's _immensely_ worried look in the last panel.

K: "...Oops?"

The glare continued. "Yes."

A: "At... at least you were able to get _another_ shot out. But... now I'm kinda dreading the next page."

R: "I have... _already_ died in a horrifying way."

H: "...So you've braced yourself."

R: "...It is a logical plan, from the MP-Eva's perspectives."

E: " _A-Again_?"

R: "You... get used to it. I wonder if I... knew they were about to attack."

S: "You probably could get away."

R: "...I do not think I will."

**(198)**

R: "...It is far too late for _me_."

Z: "You... stayed there to protect Shinji."

R: "As... I would."

E: "Y- You can't come back from this, Rei."

R: "...I wonder if I knew that. It... would not matter either way."

K: "As long as you were able to protect Shinji."

Asuka _growled_. "God _damn it,_ they killed you _again_? Those _bastards_!"

S: "...I am _not_ going to take this well."

H: "Are... you taking it well... what am I saying. You wouldn't take it well even _here_."

S: "...No. I'm not."

R: "...I would not mind a break _after_ this."

K: "I don't think there are too many more pages after this. At least for _this_ volume."

**(199)**

E: "...Who is talking to her?"

S: "...Yeah. I'm not taking it well."

R: "Who _would_ be talking to her? The few people who _could_ are... well, not in any position to."

_Kami-chan_ (200)

The group attempted to grapple the sight of this _other other_.

A: "Fuck sake, you'd think _I_ was the one getting cloned with how many different _me's_ there are!"

S: "A _young_ you, though."

E: "One with _powers_ , at _least_ on the level of a Nephilim."

Rei meanwhile made a connection. "Asuka? You know how you said this could only get worse if God were to come down from Heaven above?"

A: "...You think that's _God_? Why the fuck am I _God_?! _"_

K: "It could be God in a known image. He has been known to do that."

A: "So what, instead of appearing as a bush or slinging it onto Gabriel, they just appear as a... younger _me_?"

K: "It's certainly better than the alternative of appearing as several flaming wheels and probably melting your brain."

A: "I think I'd honestly prefer that."

H: "No wonder this world is weird."

**(202)**

Z: "So what, _God_ in that world is a younger _you_?"

E: "If it even _is_ God. It could simply be a Nephilim."

A: "I mean, it'd be par for the course with how _fucked_ this doujin has been."

S: "Why couldn't they come down _before_ all this shit happened, then?"

Asuka barked a laugh. "You think God will give us the _easy_ way out?"

K: "Judging by _this_ , I doubt they will.”

**STOP 202**

Kaworu flipped forward a few pages. "Indeed, that's the end of _this_ volume."

"Thank _God_." Asuka muttered. "Not _her_ , if she _is_ God."

"She almost reminds me of a _magical girl_." Rei noted.

"Yeah, and we know how well _they_ all ended up." Asuka noted right back at her.

"I still don't know what the hell is going on."

"Neither do we, Zero Two." Spoke Shinji. "Not only is everything _more_ fucked, now apparently _God_ might be a thing?"

"I'm sure many of our problems could be solved with divine intervention."

"What was it you said, Kaworu? That God is a watchmaker?"

"Indeed."

"Well, surely a watchmaker would _fix_ a broken watch."

"Perhaps that is what _this_ world is. A fixed watch."

"A fixed watch would be akin to _Wolk's_ writings."

"So we're _still_ broken."

"That wasn't the _intent_ of my words, but sure." Kaworu got up. "I am sure you'd all like to take a br-"

Everyone else followed suit, and started filing out.

Seeing himself preempted, he too followed suit with the crowd.

* * *

## 3\. Intel

Kaji flipped down his phone.

"What does he want _now_?"

"I like how you assume it's _Makinami_ I'm talking to."

She huffed, leaning on her desk. "Well, was it?"

"Yeah."

"You know _why_ I assumed it then." A small smirk. "So what does he want to leverage from us _now_?"

"Remember that raid I and the other guys did on Kiel?"

"Fondly." Flat.

"You recall we got some intel from his abode before he pulled an IRA on us?"

She had to think about this. "...That's right. I don't think we even _did_ much with that."

"Sounds like you _forgot_ about it."

"If anything, it was _Ritsuko_ who forgot about it. I gave it to _her_ , after all." A small grimace. "Of course, considering _what_ happened after that, I can understand her forgetfulness."

She got back on track. "I'm guessing it's in relation to those _images_ , he sent us."

"Got it in one."

"Alright. So, how are they gonna get to him?"

Crickets.

"Well, we can either send a courier out to the States with them, or we can just get the data and transfer it over a satellite link. Might as well put them to good use."

"Works for me."

~~~

The Commander and the UNOC agent knocked on the door of the Subcommander and her Kohai's lab. Which was, _for some reason_ , locked.

She knew full well _why_ it was locked, but at least she didn't catch them with their pants down like her charges.

The door eventually slid open. "Misato?"

She ignored the hastily done up shirt and the lipstick stains. "You remember I gave you a box of computer stuff and told you to sort through that?"

Ritsuko had to rake her mind, but she did eventually recall. "From Kaji's little stunt, right?"

"Wasn't just _my_ stunt, it was a _UNOC sponsored_ stunt!"

They _both_ ignored his indignation. "Yeah, Makinami is making headway into a _new_ conspiracy."

"Gods, _another one_?"

The Commander opened her Christmas gift from Kaji and showed the her the image.

"...How did he even _get_ that image?"

"Something to do with Voyager, he didn't mention specifics." Flippant. "Though he was _adamant_ this was SEELE."

Pursed lips. "I mean, it _could_ be. But we don't have any substantial evidence."

"Hence why he _wants_ this computer stuff."

The query clicked in Ritsuko's mind. "Oh, so _he_ wants to get the glory of discovering a new conspiracy for himself."

"Are you already using them?"

"Honestly, they've just been gathering dust in the same box. We've been pretty busy, if you hadn't noticed."

A flat look. "Yeah, I'm sure you're _very_ busy, with your Kohai in a locked room."

Ritsuko kept her pokerface, but Misato revelled in the smallest of 'meep''s in the back.

"We'll uplink the data to Massachusetts. Depending on how much there is to process, they should get it by the end of the day."

"Thank you." A sly smile. "I'll leave you two to your... _business_."

And the door shut again.

Ritsuko gave a small chuckle. "Damn it, Misato."

"Did... did she think we were doing it or something?"

"She _always_ thinks that, Maya." A salacious to her Kohai.

Who put down the playing cards. "...Yeah, we probably could've gone through that stuff earlier."

Ritsuko, meanwhile, found said box and started sorting through it. "Maybe. Then again, surely you couldn't put _too_ much on something like... _this_." Holding up a 8 inch floppy disk, from the box. "I haven't seen these since I was _six_."

"...Do we even _have_ something that can read that?"

"We _might_. Either way, it's a good security by obscurity. I'll give that cyborg _that_ much."

Yet another knock on the door.

"It's not the Commander again, is it?"

Maya went for the door.

Luck have it, it was Kensuke. In full NERV uniform as well. "You look rather dashing in that, Aida."

"Sayaka and Kyoko said as much." He noted, before switching to his 'respecting the ones who writes his paycheque' mode. "What will we do today?"

Ritsuko held up said disk. "You know what this is, Aida?"

"That's an 8 inch floppy disk. The JMSDF use that with _their_ computers; they're good for holding missile launch codes and all the other CP/M programs the whole armed forces seem to run on."

"... _What_?"

He shrugged. "If it ain't broke and all that."

"Probably a mixture of 'lowest bidder' as well." Ritsuko muttered, unbelieving they could run on such archaic systems. "No matter. There is a reasonable assumption that _this_ , plus all these _other_ storage devices, has vital information in our ongoing fight against SEELE."

That perked his interest. "What... what could _I_ do in this? That seems kinda... _intense_ for someone like me."

"Errand boy." A small smirk. "We need drives for 8, 5 1/4 and 3 1/2 inch floppy disks. Additionally, we need a ZIP drive and a CD drive."

"So just about every format under the sun." He wryly noted, as he noted a manifest. "Do you need an old computer to actually _use_ these drives?"

"Good thing about the Magi, we can just wire them up to some general IO and have _them_ do the heavy lifting."

"They never cease to amaze me." He mused. "Do you guys have a warehouse, or something like that?"

"I had the Magi text directions to you."

Indeed, his phone buzzed with six new messages. "I... might be a while." As he made his exit.

"There's trolleys there if you need them!" Maya yelled out, as the door shut behind him. "So, Sempai. Considering we had _one_ DVD drive in our possession, which we gave to _Aida_ , what are the chances we have an _8 inch floppy disk drive_?"

"Minimal." She admitted. "Though this isn't just a snipe hunt."

"Testing his _problem solving_ some more?"

"There _is_ method to my madness." The smirk returned. "Now, should we return to what we did before?"

"...I mean, we have the _other_ stuff to go through."

"...Oh yeah."

* * *


	6. ReC After

* * *

## 1\. Warehouse

The warehouses of NERV Japan were all rather sprawling complexes, easily matching the size of an average IKEA.

A fact which Kensuke was in awe about, as he looked off into the distance. "Is that a _horizon_?"

It was a bit of a pain to get in anyway, what with all the security NERV has and the security guards he was _still_ terrified of.

At the very least, NERV were _really_ pedantic at organisation, so it wasn't _too_ much of an issue to actually find _where_ all the various miscellaneous computer parts were.

Riding the flatbed trolley also helped, though he hoped his superiors weren't watching on the cameras. A rather vain hope, considering.

Either way, he soon found himself sorting through a veritable bin of components. The CD drive wasn't that difficult to fish out, as he would expect with its general ubiquity. Same for the 3 1/2, 5 1/4 and even the Zip disk drives, despite the middle's age and the latter being a premium product.

No 8 inch drives though, at least within what he searched. To which he gave a huff. "So Ken, what're the chances she planned for this."

High, he thought back to himself. It probably wouldn't be _too_ much of a pain in his backside to mod a 5 1/4 inch drive to read 8 inch floppies. They used the same sort of material, so it would be logical, no?

"Yeah, _that's_ a real genius idea." He muttered to himself, placing five more drives on his flatbed trolley.

~~~

This time around the scientists _weren't_ up to something that required a locked lab, having been busy hooking up some general IO to a terminal. "Did you get what we needed?"

"All except the 8 inch drive, couldn't find one."

"How would you suggest we _read_ it, Aida?"

"Well, it depends on things like formatting but you _might_ be able to extensively modify a 5 1/4 inch drive to read 8 inch disks. They're just downscaled, are they not?"

Logical, they thought. "Discounting the disk size itself, there _are_ minor differences between how the two formats are read. At least judging by the schematics we were able to pull up."

To which Aida shrugged. "Not like _I_ have any schematic to go off."

"Fair."

So he was _given_ schematics. "Given the following schematics, posit a method to read 8 inch disks with a 5 1/4 inch drive."

One quick glance later. "You could probably get away with using the same motor and heads. The whole chassis would need redoing to fit the disk, and the spindle would need to be resized to fit the larger hole. Other than that, up the RPM to match a regular 8 inch drive and that should be good."

"Not bad, Aida." The Subcommander gave her approval. "While the size of the sectors are double that of a regular 5 1/4 inch disk, that should be irrelevant once the mechanism is connected to the Magi."

Another glance down to the papers. "Oh. Yeah."

" _Read_. And double check. You never know what information you could find on a second look, and more lives than yours could _depend_ on that information."

Kensuke was rather taken aback by the sudden lesson. "Y-yes Ma'am."

"I know how the pilots may make it _seem_ like fun and games. But what we do here could very well be the difference between _everyone_ in this city seeing the sun rise again."

"...And the pilots know that."

"They would know it well." Maya pointed it out. "The whole world would, I would think. They're the obvious vanguard in protecting us."

"But they aren't the only people charged with protection. _All_ of NERV is. The engineers, keeping the N2 reactors running and the lights on. The administrators, keeping all the computers up. Even the janitors, keeping the hallways clean. All of us play a role in protecting this world, Aida."

"Which is... what we're doing now."

"Yes." A nod. "Exactly what we're doing. Of course, we have begun _branching out_ to other endeavours, as you would know. But, protecting this world comes first for NERV."

Kensuke was still rather timid. "So... what could _I_ do to protect this world?"

"Getting that 8 inch floppy disk read would be a good start."

He paused. "I'm sure there are _other_ ways to motivate someone without invoking existential dread."

"It comes with the job, Aida."

~~~

Pen-Pen was busy watching some old American sitcom on Misato's TV.

Beer in flipper.

He personally blamed _her_ for why he liked it so much.

It was to his panic, then, that he heard the door open. So much so that in this panic, he threw the half finished beer off the balcony, anticipating it was Misato.

Luck have it (or not), it _wasn't_ Misato. "Wark?"

"Not like we're _doing_ much, Pen-Pen." Asuka muttered. "What with _all_ our Evangelion out of commission."

"On the bright side, it gives us more time to read through the works Providence happens to give us." Spoke Kaworu.

"Is that _really_ a good thing?"

"Probably not, Shinji."

"Wark." He muttered, disappointed, waddling back to his fridge after turning the TV off.

"I think that penguin has problems." Zero Two thought.

"I thought that was obvious."

"You could probably blame Misato for that sort of behaviour." Asuka muttered, as she sat at the table. "Any other animal, you could probably call it animal cruelty."

"I'm assuming since Pen-Pen seems... almost _human_ level intelligent."

They silently looked at the work.

"So." Kaworu began. "I think we got one more volume left. At least 200 pages."

"We might as well get it all done before the weekend ends." Rei added.

"My thinking exactly."

Asuka could see that knowledge. "Might as well get it over with."

And so their read began.

* * *

# 2\. Re-Take

**Character Key:**

Shinji (S) Asuka (A)

Rei (R) Kaworu (K) Eliza (E)

Hiro (H) Zero Two (Z)

### 2.45: Re-Take: Volume 04 (continued)

Note: This covers the FIRST HALF of VOLUME 3 of the Non-H version of Re-Take, roughly corresponding to the LATTER HALF of VOLUME 04 of the H version.

_The Story of a Little God_ (Page 5)

A: "Well _this_ is off to a good start. Where the fuck _are_ we?"

E: "I doubt we would know _this_ early on."

K: "A flashback. Or, flash _forward_ , depending on your stance."

R: "It all depends on _when_ it happened. This _could_ be post-Instrumentality, in the future past."

Z: "Time is so damn confusing."

R: "Hence why we do not dabble with it too much."

**(6)**

S: "Who is _she_? That's not _you_ , is it Asuka?"

A: "Nah, my hair would've been lighter coloured if she _was_ me."

H: " _Who_ is it, then."

K: "With just _this_ page, it's difficult to say. There is a demolished building, in one of the panels. But that could just as easily place the time as post- _Second Impact_ , let alone post- _Instrumentality._ "

Z: "So what _is_ this bug-eyed girl meant to tell us?"

R: "Childhood innocence, perhaps?"

S: "Something _we_ don't have."

A: "She's _already_ doing better than we were, then."

**(7)**

E: "I don't think it's post- _Instrumentality_."

K: "Unless that's ruins."

A: "She seems _far_ too happy for being in an _Instrumentality_ world."

S: "Kinda like Aki, eh Asuka?"

Asuka huffed. "I don't _think_ that's her."

Z: "Was that your... _child_?"

A: "Yeah. In _one_ of these works."

R: "Either way, she _is_ enjoying herself. But I feel with the UN presence, this most likely will not last."

A: "No shit."

**(8)**

R: "Not... what I was expecting. It appears this _is_ post-Instrumentality."

Z: "What... the _fuck_ is that?"

R: "The me that combined with Adam and Lilith, after Shinji cancelled Instrumentality."

H: "You died _again_?"

K: "I think, technically, this was _before_ the loop occurred."

A: "So this _young girl_ is left all alone in an Instrumentality world."

S: "That's... what we wanted Aki to avoid, wasn't it?"

E: "By the looks of it, I don't think _she_ minds."

R: "Maybe as far as she knows, that is the world. Similarly to Aki herself, how the only world she knew was the post-Instrumentality world."

Z: "She definitely _looked_ as young."

**(10)**

Z: " _They_ don't even know when it was set."

K: "They have a point. Time is rather relative. We just assign labels to various points in time in order to measure it."

E: "Even for someone like _me_ , the epoch is a rather arbitrary point in time."

R: "And indeed, it _is_ real. _Somewhere_ in the many universes this reality appears to have."

**(11)**

A: "Aw fuck she _is_ God. God damn it, Rei!"

R: " _Her_ damn it, more like."

Asuka simply glared at Rei.

R: "Or is it _you_ damn it?"

_The Maiden_ (12)

S: "She _is_ you, Asuka."

Asuka huffed. "No one else smugly smiles like _me_."

Z: " _I_ could probably give you a run for your money."

E: "You're certainly not smiling _now_. At least, _one_ of you."

**(13)**

Asuka barked a laugh at her own reaction. "Oh, _another_ you suddenly appears out of nowhere and _that's_ your response?"

K: "I imagine she wouldn't know _how_ to respond properly."

H: "Would _we_ know how to respond?"

R: "I doubt there _is_ a reasonable method to respond to someone being _God_."

A: " _You two_ seem like close enough analogues."

K: " _We_ have the advantage of friendship. Imagine if the burning bush appeared in front of you."

A: "I'd probably extinguish it."

E: "She's taking her own ambivalence in her stride, at least."

Z: "I'd say she has a point, though. The _non_ -god you, least I _think_ she isn't a god."

S: "...I doubt there's much _I_ could do."

A: "You could probably do _something_."

**(14)**

S: "...She _is_ like me, isn't she?"

Z: "With _what_ she's been through, it's almost _understandable_."

E: "I don't think _those_ words are what she'd want to hear."

A: "No shit, considering she _hates_ Shinji."

R: "Of course, this hate may be waning at this point."

K: "If it was even there to begin with, and not the result of her trauma."

H: "I think _everything_ here is the result of trauma."

A: "Least they got _that_ aspect about us right."

R: "And yet, Shinji has at least _tried_ to make his situation better. She has _not_."

S: "Then again, it _would_ be difficult to affect things in... _her_ situation."

A: "She _has_ affected situations, Shinji. She got Unit-00 for _Rei_ , so obviously she _can_ do things like that. She just chooses _not_ to."

E: "Her words are confirmation of what we thought, then."

**(15)**

Z: "She... _you're_ really going to town on... you." She furrowed her brow at the roundabout words.

K: "All because she's afraid her _perceived_ reason for existence will become irrelevant, should you succeed."

R: "She has had that idea long engrained within her, at this point. Throughout however many loops through time she has been through. _We_ know well it can be difficult to break from these kind of ideas."

E: "Very much _like_ Shinji, at least the Laserdisc Shinji."

S: "Did... did she only just realise this?"

A: "I think she _has_. _Or_ , she _already_ knew but was _denying_ it for this long, which I _also_ wouldn't be surprised about."

H: "That's what the... _god_ you seems to imply."

_Pattern Unknown_ (16)

E: "I assume that's _God_ doing the work."

R: "She really _is_ God. How uncanny."

Z: "Even for _you guys_?"

A: "Funnily enough, you don't tend to meet _God themselves_ in your day to day life. Most contact with him is one way anyway."

K: "They say God works in mysterious ways."

A: "All of which involve fucking _us_ over."

S: "I wonder if she'll do the same."

H: "At least _here_ , she seems like she's trying to make things _better_."

A: "Yeah, and that worked well for _Shinji_ this time around, didn't it?"

R: "I think it evident that she _has_ the power to effectively turn things around, in this world."

K: "If Hyuga's reaction is anything to go by."

Z: "I know what a _Blue_ pattern is, but what's an _Orange_?"

E: "Orange pattern is essentially a high energy reading from an apparently _non-_ Angel source."

R: "Of course, if they can exert enough energy to _appear_ as Orange, they are most likely Angel anyway."

E: "Hence the tendency that an Orange quickly becomes Blue. Or it fluctuates between, as it does here."

**(17)**

Eliza gave a curious hum.  "Odd."

R: "The Magi, for all the power they would have, would almost certainly struggle with identifying _God_. Who knows what power she could have."

Z: "And despite the obvious power play, she _still_ won't act."

A: "She has her reasons."

S: "Mainly related to _me_."

K: "You could certainly _see_ it as abandonment. If it was _intentional_. We still do not know if Shinji went back on his own volition."

S: "Or if I _could_ go back on my own volition, and it wasn't... well, _God_ that sent me back."

H: "Why do I have a feeling _that_ was the case?"

**(18)**

S: "...So it was _my_ actions that created all these worlds?"

A: "According to _her_."

H: "That would imply _that_ world is _also_ one of his own making."

K: "At least _here_ , the infinite worlds are merely a phenomena of this reality."

S: "Though it's _kinda_ like what happened in _both_ finales, wasn't it?"

A: "Oh yeah, the _high school AU_."

R: "And the reality where you did not even _exist_."

E: "But those were simply _dreams_ of yours, were they not?"

S: "Well, _yeah_. But who knows _what_ could've happened during Instrumentality."

Z: " _We_ certainly don't." She flatly stated, masking her confusion."

A: "You _still_ haven't seen the movie?"

Z: "Nope."

A: "Christ, you're gonna be _really_ lost."

H: "So same as usual."

**(19)**

A: "Y'know? I wouldn't be too surprised if _that_ was an explanation for our reality."

S: "...Yeah. If there's _one_ constant to all this, it's us."

E: "But not your _relationship_."

K: "All the way to the _Edo_ period, as well. At least, according to _her_."

Asuka furrowed her brow. "How _would_ that work, anyway? Surely I would _always_ be born around the same time?"

R: "If anything, your Laserdisc self is _younger_."

H: "Either way, they all involve _Shinji_."

S: "Not that I'd _want_ them to involve me. Cause that invariably means it's me _and_ my friends getting screwed."

A: "You could probably explain that by you being the _main character_ , Shinji." She wryly pointed out.

R: "With how we _all_ experienced such thing, we would _all_ be a main character, as you described."

S: "It's still kinda... _weird_ , that all this seems to revolve around _me_ , of all people."

K: "You _are_ a constant, Shinji. No matter the world."

S: "...There is not one world where I'm _not_ front and centre?"

K: "There is the world of Franxx, and the world of Madoka. However, I think what _this_ Asuka means is worlds _close_ to ours."

R: "Similar to how _you_ have only looped into worlds within our... vicinity."

K: "At least, as far as I can recall."

Z: "I'm sure I would've recognised _you_ , Kaworu."

E: "Even if we _weren't_ in a work, there's still a chance we could _exist_ elsewhere."

_Real World_ (20)

H: "So... the world of Instrumentality is the _real_ world, and every other world is just in Shinji's mind?"

Z: "Well _that_ doesn't bode too well for _this_ world."

K: "I think _I_ of all people would know if this were a dream. We've seen enough of this reality to know it exists."

E: "It _could_ be a possibility, but one that were impossible to determine."

R: "If it _were_ , that means Shinji would have to contend with an _infinite_ reality. As this is."

S: "I mean, if I were a _God_."

A: "I thought _I_ was God."

K: "Godhood is subjective, anyway. What measure is a God? A layman could classify _me_ as a God."

R: "Either way. At least according to _this_ Asuka, _her_ world is the real one."

K: "One she doesn't want to be alone in."

**(21)**

A: "But she refuses to change."

E: "At this point, I doubt she _can_. Not with such an attitude so deeply engrained within her."

R: "She would think that. But people _can_ change, even if it takes a great deal of action."

Zero Two huffed. "I would know that well."

S: "I... think we _all_ do."

K: "And yet, even when the path appears to end, you can continue onward. And forge a _new_ path. As you did in Wolk's work."

R: "You two could have easily lost your will at the end of Evangelion. But you both persist."

A: "... _Shinji_ seems to have been the persistent one, in this. _She_ sounds like she just wanted to _die_ after the end."

S: "She... she _still_ wants to."

**(22)**

H: "...You don't share her attitude."

S: "Not at all."

A: "At least _there_ , we don't share attitudes."

E: "Thus you will persist. Even if it results in death."

R: "But that is the nature of life. If you stop persisting, you die. If death will result anyway, then you might as well _keep_ persisting."

K: "The Gurren Lagann approach. Even _beyond_ death, you can still persist. If you have the will."

Z: "Shinji has _will_. But... it's whether or not that's _enough_."

A: "If _that_ world is any indicator. It's certainly no Gurren Lagann."

**(23)**

R: "...She knows he has that will."

K: "Life itself is a struggle. From the very beginning."

S: "That's... like you in the Laserdiscs."

A: "...She knows that."

E: "It would be around the time the MP-Evangelion are going in for the kill. And... if you were oversyncing."

S: "...I'm not gonna like the next page, am I?"

**(24)**

Shinji cringed.

H: "Is... _that_ a consequence of oversync?"

E: "...Indeed. The higher your synchronisation, the closer you are to your Evangelion. Up to a maximum of 400%."

Z: "...What happens _then_?"

Eliza glanced towards Rei.

R: "You _become_ Evangelion."

A: "Whatever happens to the _Evangelion_..."

S: "And... now _I'm_ experiencing that."

K: "All the while, _this_ Asuka is in Shinji's shoes."

_Beautiful Girl_ (25)

S: "...Yeah that wouldn't help your opinion of me."

A: "That's not _you_ , Shinji. I know _you_ wouldn't even _think_ of doing that."

It took Zero Two a few seconds to understand _what_ that image was conveying, but as soon as she understood she gagged.

R: "And yet, this happened as a _consequence_. He did not know how else to respond to his urges."

E: "And I think it obvious he _did_ have second thoughts after that."

S: "If I wasn't _suicidal_ before that, the... _shame_ from that would've surely sent me over the edge."

K: "But... the God Asuka does identify that as one constant. No matter the world, he loves _you_ , Asuka."

A: "...It's a shame there's some worlds where we don't... connect."

H: "A good thing this was one of the... lucky worlds, then."

Z: "You'd think your relationship was the _only_ thing preventing the end of the world."

K: "It is."

Z: "...What."

K: "If they had not had such a good first kiss, the Laserdisc scenario would've likely proceeded as it was."

Z: "...What."

A: "Not like _your_ relationship was any different. You two hadn't gotten together, you'd just be another brick in the wall."

Z: "That's... fair, actually."

_'Pink Floyd, not bad.'_

_'You like them?'_

_'They made interesting songs, to say the least.'_

**(26)**

S: "I don't think that at all!"

A: "I know _you_ don't, Shinji. Shit, I don't even think _this_ Shinji thinks that."

K: "But _she_ thinks he does, and that's all that matters to her."

E: "After all that has happened, she would _only_ consider herself."

R: "It is a good thing, then, that God is in her image."

Z: "By the _sounds_ of it, it worked _both ways_."

A: "... _Well_ , I did always eye Shinji. I just kept it more subtle than he did."

H: "And you didn't do the same for _others_?"

Asuka shrugged. "I was never really _into_ guys before I came to Japan, mind you."

Zero Two thought. And breathed in.

A: " _NO,_ I was not into girls either Zero Two. Though... meeting Shinji changed that... hell even getting to know _Rei_ changed a few things."

Rei gave a slight blush.

K: "Goes to show how highly Shinji _values_ you, Asuka. Though this value can be a double edged sword. Nurtured, it will grow to a relationship akin to yours today. _Neglected_ , however... and you get a Laserdisc situation."

A: "...With how _we_ were like, it's a damn miracle we _could_ nurture it."

Z: "That would explain her... ambivalence towards Shinji. Wouldn't it?"

R: "If she believed Shinji only cared in the _idea_ of Asuka, and not _Asuka_ herself."

E: "The _whole_ doujin would've simply set that idea in stone, with Shinji focusing on the now catatonic Asuka instead of the Instrumentality Asuka."

**(27)**

S: "...God doesn't think the same way."

A: "Of course _they_ wouldn't."

R: "As _God_ , she would know the truth of the matter. That Shinji's feelings are indeed true."

**(28)**

A: "...Man, you know our mental states are fucked when it takes _God_ to tell you otherwise."

K: "It's the simple truth. There's nothing more to it."

A: "...I mean, _I_ know he loves me."

Eliza smiled.  "By the sounds of it, he loves you _regardless_ of time."

R: "Despite how reality treats us, it _does_ like pushing you two together."

H: "Almost like whoever this _God_ is _knows_ you two are meant to be."

S: "...At least we have _that_ going for us, eh Asuka?"

Asuka huffed, looking him in the eyes. "Yeah. This world isn't _that_ bad."

There wasn't that much of a delay before they embraced one another, in a rather touching display of affection that the Nephilim enjoyed.

Z: "... _Wait_. Is _that_ why the world ends if you two just so happen to _not_ get together? Some vengeful God taking it out on the world because her _pairing_ didn't happen?"

R: "Well, considering _Asuka_ is God."

A pause.

Before they _all_ burst out laughing at the sheer _absurdity_ of it all, even for _this_ world.

_Acceptance_ (30)

K: "And yet, despite the mountain of evidence, she _still_ denies it."

R: "She has _always_ loved him. And he has always loved _her_."

S: "So... me with the _other_ Asuka was just my way of getting to _this_ Asuka?"

K: "According to _her_. Of course, _God_ would know otherwise."

E: " _Eventually_ , she will have to face the truth."

A: "Shit, _everyone_ would is _God_ came down and told you. I mean, what _could_ you do?"

**(31)**

Z: "She could do that." Flat.

H: "Not that it would help."

A: "Of course... at _this_ point, who knows if there's _anything_ of me left in... her."

R: "There is always _something_. Even if it is buried deep, it is still there."

K: "Even if it takes _God_ to dig it up."

S: "...So this is when you _realise_?"

A: "...I _hope_ so."

**(32)**

E: "...If _this_ won't convince her."

K: "The wedding invitation."

R: "A sign of their love."

Z: "And... a reminder for her?"

R: "Exactly."

**(33)**

A: "...I believe she's made a decision."

Z: "Is it... the _good_ decision?"

A: "I think it is."

S: "You... finally remember."

A: "...I don't think I ever forgot, Shinji."

**(34)**

R: "You share his determination, now."

A: "As... I would. At least _now_."

E: "It just took _God_ to remind you."

Asuka flashed a small smile. "Kinda fits me, doesn't it? It was practically divine intervention that got _us_ together, eh Shinji?"

_Synchro Restart_ (35)

S: "I'm gonna _need_ divine intervention in order to win."

K: "Well, we know _God_ exists. Maybe she could use her divine powers to actually make the world better."

A: "I'm sure _we_ could've used something like that _here_."

R: "The fact that God has _not_ showed themselves to you yet surely implies we are doing _something_ right."

Z: "I'm not _too_ sure, but judging by Maya's reaction, you might not even _need_ divine intervention."

K: "They won't outright _kill_ Shinji. Unit-01 is still a key to Instrumentality, after all."

E: "So this can merely be a _side effect_ of such thing?"

**(36)**

H: "...Is this _good_?"

S: "I mean, I'm not _dead_."

A: "That isn't exactly an _achievement_ at this point."

R: "It _does_ appear you continue to be in control, however. Compared to the Laserdiscs, at this point."

K: "You _may_ have a chance at saving this world, then."

Z: "What an accomplishment." She deadpanned.

E: "Either way, I doubt the MP-Evangelion will be _too_ much of a problem now."

R: "It is a shame God did not appear _before_ I died. Again."

**(38)**

S: "Y'know, if _you_ had full frontal nudity like _that_."

A: "Yeah yeah, I know. Though that's generally cause they _sexualise_ it."

Z: "This is _not_ sexualised."

R: "From what it sounds like, he is conversing with Unit-01."

E: "Only _this_ time around, it is not your _mother_ in Unit-01."

H: "Who is it, then?"

K: "From the speech pattern, I think it's _God_."

R: "That would make _some_ sort of sense, at least. We would know _who_ it was in Unit-01, at least."

**(39)**

Z: "...One day, for sure."

R: "A... curious phrase."

A: "...Who do you think she is, Rei?"

R: "Perhaps she is not _you_. But... a child."

Asuka had to take a few glances down at the page. "...Y'know? That... that makes sense. They were an Angel themselves, weren't they?"

K: "That would explain this ability."

S: "...So our child is _God_?"

R: "At least, she _thinks_ herself a God."

K: "Whatever she is, I don't think it matters too much. What _does_ matter, is that she appears to _love_ you both."

Z: "...And she comes to help out of this love?"

K: "I think so. If... she is your child, then she is not _God,_ per se. Nephilim, like her father."

R: "Perhaps even like her _mother_."

S: "Was... _that_ why she wanted Asuka to... remember?"

K: "Perhaps. We may not know."

**(40)**

H: "...Well, if that's what she wanted."

R: "I imagine this will serve to turn the tide. With your powers combined."

A: "Well... I would _hope_. It'd be pretty disappointing to get _this_ far with us both and then _die_ , wouldn't it?"

K: "Even though that's pretty much what happened in the Laserdiscs."

E: "You two would _surely_ know the secret to the MP-Evangelion, at this point. Asuka from _before_ , and Shinji from _now_."

S: "...That _does_ increase our chance of survival, admittedly."

A: "At least _you_ might get to the end of this. _Me_... well, I got _no_ clue where I'm at right now."

Z: "Well, since we established your _God_ self is your _daughter_ , that leaves _two_ Asuka's. The mindless one or the broken one."

A: "What excellent options."

R: "I would expect the _Instrumentality_ Asuka to return to her previous time, possibly alongside Shinji."

S: "And leave the _other_ Asuka behind?"

Asuka had a small smile. "You already _have_ an Asuka, Shinji. You want _another one_?"

S: "More of a good thing, and all that."

The smile remained, now joined by a small blush. "Perv."

_Settling Scores_ (42)

R: "You _would_ know well, Shinji."

E: " _We_ know well, as well."

A: "Shit, I'm _still_ settling scores with them to this day. At least when they _were_ attacking."

K: "And the simulator is always an option."

S: "A complex to set up option that relies on the _Evangelion_ themselves working."

Z: "Of course, that's just how you justify _to yourself_ suddenly helping him."

A: "I doubt it'd work too well."

H: "Maybe to convince Shinji, then."

A: "I doubt _that_ would work as well."

Z: "Either way. I feel like there's gonna be some action coming."

A: "I can wait to see how _we_ rip and tear their guts out."

**(43)**

E: "That object is the Lance, isn't it?"

R: "I would not be surprised."

H: "With how cool headed they _usually_ are, I _still_ find it odd seeing them like... _this_."

A: "When the Commanders get to _that_ stage, that's usually when shit hits the fan."

K: "...Such as during the Rogue-00 Incursion."

S: "Doubt them _not_ knowing what the hell is going on would help."

Z: "Fear of the unknown. Even on _my_ world, that was a thing even the _Caretakers_ would get affected by."

H: "Not to mention the _pilots themselves_."

A: "I don't think _we_ are going through such fear, but then again we actually _know_ what's going on."

**(44)**

Z: "That's a bit of damage."

R: "I do not think the Commander expected the Lance to be used."

A: "Obviously, that would've _completely_ eviscerated his office!"

K: "The Lance deploying _now_ would be a slight issue. We know from the Laserdiscs, it was a key aspect in SEELE's plan for Instrumentality."

E: "Even _with_ it ostensibly becoming _lost_."

Z: "Just spoil the whole thing, why don't you."

A: "You have had _plenty_ of time to watch the last _three_ episode and the movie."

H: "So if that Lance _pierces_ Unit-01, the world's done?"

K: "It's not the point of no return, but it's a line that shouldn't be crossed regardless."

**(45)**

A: "Well it's a damn good thing we _caught_ it!"

Z: "That's... how _fast_ was it going?"

E: "How did it get that _angle_ if it was going _vertical_?"

K: "The Lance most likely _sought_ Unit-01, aiming for the core."

R: "But, if _this_ is anything to go by, Unit-01 will _not_ become the vessel for Instrumentality."

H: "Does that mean... _their_ plan has failed?"

K: "Adam is gone."

S: "Unit-01 is in control of the Lance."

R: "I am _dead_."

A: " _All_ of their pieces have _somehow_ fallen off the board."

**(46)**

K: "And I imagine you have your little God to thank for all of that."

A: "The _only_ thing that has gone our way so far is _this_. Every single thing has _fucked_ us and yet it's _still_ gonna end up better than the Laserdiscs?"

R: "A good thing you did not wear protection that night."

Asuka's head met table.

**(47)**

E: "It really _is_ divine intervention."

K: "As we said. This would be checkmate."

A: "I wouldn't expect SEELE to fall _this_ easily."

K: "And I doubt they will _this_ time around."

Z: "Is it _really_ that much of a key?"

S: "Even if it _wasn't_ , we could _easily_ defeat the MP-Eva with the Lance."

R: "And, since the MP-Evangelion were a _requirement_ to their plan."

A: "Still, you could stop their plan to _end the world_. Doesn't mean you rip them out, root and stem."

H: "I'm sure _you_ guys would know that well."

**(48)**

A: "Looks like we intend on making _good use_ of that."

K: "It almost looks like you intend to throw the Lance _up_."

Z: "Well, if it was to get _rid_ of it."

E: "It's a _seeking_ object, throwing it away wouldn't do too much."

R: "Perhaps intending on _using_ it. Against an MP-Evangelion."

S: "They're really playing it up, aren't they?"

A: "It's the grand climax, Shin-chan, of _course_ they play it up!"

**(49)**

A: "Good. I wish I could kill you myself, you cyborg motherfucker."

H: "Their leader, right? They really _have_ lost, if they're admitting defeat like _this_."

Z: " _Our_ conspiracy would _never_ declare defeat, would they?"

R: "Our _own_ has not."

S: "And I imagine they will _never_ admit defeat."

K: "You can erase a group, but you can never erase an _idea_. Even if SEELE were to disappear, there would always be those who desired such a thing."

E: "There's _always_ a risk of Instrumentality, isn't there?"

K: "Instrumentality is _usually_ the result of the forbidden union. Adam and Lilith, the MP-Evangelion and Unit-01 or any other Lilith based Unit. Even Rogue-00 could count as an attempt at Instrumentality, only with _Rogue-00 itself_ as the vessel."

R: "Only, I do not recall Rogue-00 being the result of a forbidden union.

K: "It... could've. Who knows what they did to her."

_Victory_ (50)

A: "Jesus _Christ_ how did we _do_ that?!"

H: "How would you _survive_ that?"

R: "AT-Field, most likely."

E: "Perhaps, in _that_ world, their sheer power overloaded the MP-Evangelion."

S: "So they all _blew up_?"

K: "It _would_ be an effective way of making sure SEELE's secrets weren't found out."

A: "I'm not complaining or anything, but why didn't _ours_ blow up when we defeated them?"

R: "Maybe, in the haste in deploying them, they could not add such a feature in time."

Z: "It would've helped with cleanup, I imagine."

E: "The cleanup is half the battle itself. Especially in _this_ situation."

A: "See my point? The more you _destroy_ your enemy, the easier it is to cleanup."

**(51)**

E: "Not just cleaning up the _viscera_."

A: "...Okay, yeah, this will probably take _years_ to cleanup."

S: "Good thing the Geofront _here_ didn't suffer like this."

K: "We would've had more sunlight, I suppose."

R: "The lakes would have drained into the Geofront soon enough."

**(52)**

R: "...How is my plug still intact, after all this?"

K: "Divine intervention, perhaps."

S: "But... that _does_ mean you might be _alive_ , Rei."

R: "That would be rather convenient for me."

Z: "Unit-00's seen _much_ better days, though."

H: "And yet _somehow_ this is a better outcome than the Laserdiscs."

A: "I still can't believe that. _Everything_ went wrong and we _still_ won!"

E: "Of course, literally having _God_ on your side probably helped."

A: "Oh yeah, we would've been _fucked_ without our little God."

**(53)**

K: "...You _are_ alive, Rei."

Z: "Pretty banged up. But yeah, alive."

R: "The _being alive_ part is the most important aspect. Though... it is indeed _miraculous_ the MP-Evangelion did not finish the job."

A: "I'd think the entry plug would be the _first_ thing they targeted."

E: "The plug was _ejected_. And I don't think your sync would've been high enough to result in what happened to _Shinji_ , when the MP-Eva began attacking _him_."

H: "I'm still not too sure how they work, but for all they knew you _were_ dead. Or at least incapacitated enough so as to _not_ pose a threat to them."

S: "...I'd say _that_ was the case."

Rei huffed. "So I _hid_. Until it was all over."

A: "Not what you prefer, Rei?"

R: "At the very least, I did _something_ to help Shinji."

**(54)**

Asuka had a wide grin at the grand image of Unit-01, towering above Rei.

Rei too had a smile to match her counterpart.

K: "Such action is paying dividends now, Rei."

_Final Messager_ (55)

R: "She... knows the truth of the matter."

K: "He is still an Angel, at least according to _them_. And... they would be remiss if they didn't even _consider_ such a possibility."

A: "So after all _that_ , he _still_ has to die?"

S: "It's what _you_ wanted, after all."

Z: "Misato would _not_ kill you, she _couldn't_ kill you. And she _tried_."

**(56)**

E: "...You know this as well, Shinji."

S: "I would know that quite well, at this point."

K: "Surely Misato would understand how this will affect her."

A: "...She'd know that well."

R: "Despite her wanting to deny it."

Z: "...Couldn't they just handle it like this world handled _you_? Since... you're an Angel as well, aren't you?"

K: "It took great care to reveal that aspect of me to NERV as a whole. In fact, I was not able to do so completely until after the _First_ Incursion. And by that point, I could not end the world even if I _wanted_ to. The method of my ascension was taken when Adam was killed."

H: "...So why does Shinji need to die?"

S: "...I think it's more _my_ decision."

**(57)**

K: "It will ultimately be up to Misato to decide. She understands the risks with having an Angel running around. As she does here."

R: "And yet _here_ , she was able to put aside her differences because we _all_ loved you."

Z: "So it's all whether or not _that's_ enough for Misato to justify... ending you?"

S: "...As we said. _She_ won't be the one ending me."

**(58)**

A: "Even if she gives the command."

E: "...Despite it deeply affecting her."

K: "And _everyone_. But... _both_ of you understand the risks."

Shinji sighed, melancholic. "At... at least it'll be with you, Asuka."

A: "It's what I wanted... wasn't it?"

**(59)**

R: "She still loves you, even now, Shinji."

S: "She's... like a mother to me. Even though our mothers are back."

E: "Especially in _this_ work."

Z: "...So after all that, you two die for the sake of the world."

K: "Does it remind you, Zero Two?"

She gave a small glance to her darling. "Y-yeah."

A: "There's a reason why he holds the Lance like that... right?"

K: "I... would suggest he was preventing Instrumentality."

_Last Light_ (60)

R: "...An interesting take on the nature of the soul."

H: "Is that what happens here?"

A: "Considering _you two_ died and still remember what happened."

K: "The general belief in Metaphysical Biology is that after death, the soul is reborn anew. With none of the previous identity."

R: "There are exceptions, of course."

E: "Her explanation differs from what is expected of Metaphysical Biology, then."

K: "It is more akin to _my_ experience. I _loop_. Reborn anew in another world akin to our own, with only the vaguest of echoes as remnants."

S: "...Her words imply that happens to _everyone_."

K: "It might. The soul is a difficult specimen to study. Of course, since _you_ are an Angel. You may have inherited my _looping_."

S: "...There's a 'but' to that."

**(61)**

K: "...Indeed. Any past or future iteration of me may be Kaworu Nagisa in _name_ , but they will not be _me_."

R: "And now, Shinji will be subject to such a thing."

H: "...The soul immortality is still a thing here, by the sounds of it."

K: " _Effective_ immortality. But... they still fade elsewhere if left too long."

A: "Maybe elsewhere is _another_ world. And they just tunnel."

Kaworu gave a melancholic huff. "That's a nice thought."

**(62)**

E: "And yet... you do not _want_ to die. Not _now_ , at least."

K: "But due to your _creation_ , you were doomed from the start."

A: "Coming from _you_ , Kaworu."

K: "I think we've established I am _very much_ an exception to the rule."

Z: "Who's to say Shinji _won't_ be an exception as well?"

S: "Probably Kimigabuchi."

R: "It... would fit them to do something like this. After all that had happened to you."

**(63)**

H: "Even if you don't _want_ to die."

S: "...I'll have to."

A: "I... wonder what _I_ could do to comfort you."

K: "Even simply _being_ there would be enough for him, I imagine."

S: "I-it would. Though... _you'll_ die as well, Asuka."

A: "As long as it's by your side, I don't care."

Z: "...You would prefer that?"

Asuka paused. "It's... hard to say. If it got to that stage."

S: "I wouldn't allow it. You're not dying on my watch, Asuka."

A: "Neither are _you_ , Shinji."

**(64)**

R: "I... think this is the first time you have openly _forgiven_ him for what he did."

A: "...It only took until we were about to die."

E: "I imagine _that_ would help in... comforting him."

K: "Making amends, for what happened."

S: "With... all I tried, in that world."

Z: "...Maybe you'll get a small piece of happiness, before you go."

H: "This _would_ be his small piece. This is the woman he loves, after all."

S: "...Not that bad a death, is it?"

_Not Today_ (66)

H: "She _what_?"

There was otherwise silence, as they tried to process just how Maya subverted what would happen.

Asuka soon broke into a low laughter. " _Damn it_ , Maya. Ruining his dramatic death scene for him."

Z: "You of all people _shouldn't_ complain, Asuka!"

K: "Out of _all_ people, it was _Maya_ who saved you. Even _Misato_ was bracing herself."

R: "She has a point. There is no point in _surviving_ if you have nothing to live for. You are not a human if that is the case. You are automata."

E: "Thing is... I can _easily_ see Ma doing this. With... what I know."

S: "...She does care a lot for us, doesn't she?"

K: "This shows that. Even _with_ the potential risks."

R: "What... is holding back the Lance now?"

E: "Hopefully the paralysis mechanisms are worth their salt."

K: "I... do not think it would matter either way, if the pilot was unconscious."

**(67)**

A: "...It _is_ a good point."

R: "One Misato _now_ subscribes to."

K: "Consider the Misato of the Laserdiscs would subscribe to the 'at all costs' mentality, especially after all that had happened."

H: "She doesn't _here_ , however."

E: "You could probably thank _these four_ for that."

They all looked between one another.

S: "Seems... we've had a massive impact."

A: "That's pretty _understating_ things, Shin-chan."

Z: "She pretty _quickly_ changed her mind, though."

A: "She _never_ wanted it in the first place. If she could take a third option, she would. And... well, she _has_ taken the third option."

S: "...Looks like I'll be fine, then." A small smile. "After _everything_ that happened."

**(68)**

A: "...Maybe _I'll_ be fine as well."

K: "You've come to an understanding, and acceptance of Shinji."

R: "Forgiveness, as well. Like the weight of the world has been lifted from your shoulders."

S: "You certainly _look_ happy."

A: "...I think that's the first time I've _really_ been happy in this shit."

**(69)**

Z: "What... what's going on now?"

E: "It looks like he's forgetting."

A: "If... I am an aspect of Shinji. Maybe that was all I needed before I could... go."

S: "So... I just have the other Asuka?"

A: "Well... if you don't remember _her_. Then that'll be just like before. Just... you and me."

**(70 & 71)**

K: "But now that she is _gone_. You feel empty."

S: "...Considering she's been with me for... a while. I can kinda understand that."

E: "By the looks of it, this is the end of _this_ part."

_Take Me To Church_ (72)

Kaworu perked an eyebrow, flipping through a few pages. "No, I believe there is yet more to read through."

A: "Oh Christ, we're _already_ up to there?"

Z: "Considering it was rushed to begin with."

A: "At least _then_ , we had a _point_ to rushing through things."

R: "Rushing through the process would not _hurt_."

E: "Either way, this seems like a significant timeskip."

**(73)**

E: " _Mama has a child?!_ "

H: "Man, a _lot_ of time must've passed."

S: "...This seem rather..."

A: " _Suspiciously kind_ to us and everyone?"

S: "...Yeah. What's the catch?"

Z: "I _would_ say just enjoy your newfound happiness. _But_..."

A: "Yeah, considering _this_ , you understand why Shinji's wary."

K: "I wonder _who_ Ritsuko would've settled with."

R: "A lot could happen in an unknown timespan."

**(74)**

Asuka had a small smile, easily picturing herself in that situation. "...You look pretty good in that suit, Shinji."

S: "I could say the same thing for _you_ , Asuka."

A: "Maybe not my _first_ choice of dress. But... I wouldn't _mind_ a wedding like that."

R: "Good luck getting the time from NERV to _get_ that kind of wedding."

Z: "I'm sure _eventually_ you'll get that kind of time."

K: "Considering we have..." He counted in his head. "Four? If _you two_ want to... who am I kidding, of course _you two_ would want to get married."

R: "Do you think we could convince the government to give Kensuke a marriage with _both_ Sayaka and Kyoko?"

K: "Make that five and... does that count as _one_ marriage?"

E: "It would be three ways, so technically it would count as _three_ marriages."

A: "Christ, we need a Vegas drive through chapel for that many marriages."

**(76)**

R: "Ah, the happy bride and groom."

A: "You're enjoying this, ain't ya Rei?"

R: "Very. Probably too much."

A: "Ah that's fine, Rei. Out of _all_ people."

Rei had a small blush.

H: "You're definitely having a much better marriage than what _our_ friends got."

Z: "To be fair, it _was_ a pretty good marriage."

S: "And then an _army_ stopped it."

Z: "Yeah, that put a bit of a damper on the celebrations. That better not happen _here_!"

K: "At _this_ point, I imagine all those issues would've been solved."

A: "Plus I _know_ most of them would be _carrying_. It'd be _stupid_ to attack us then and there."

**(77)**

E: "Congratulations."

A: "We ain't married _yet_ , Eliza."

Z: " _Those_ yous are."

R: "I am somewhat disappointed they did not show the _kiss_."

K: "Having the kiss be visible would've left them open to Murphy's law."

S: "So it's a _good_ thing?"

A: "...Y'know, I just had a thought. The things we've seen, there's not a very good track record for marriages, right?"

H: "Well, you would know Kokoro and Mitsuru's marriage... and how it ended up."

E: "There was Simon and Nia's marriage, which lasted all of six seconds."

Z: "Okay, _that's_ probably a spoiler for something."

R: "About the _only_ marriage so far that has gone _well_ , discounting the one we are reading _now_ , was the marriage between you two in _Wolk's work_."

A: "Which was practically in name only. Not like we had so much as a _celebrant_ or anything; at least _those two_ had Futoshi, poor guy."

H: "He _wanted_ to be the celebrant, mind you."

S: "So out of _all_ the things we've seen, the one that is arguably _worse_ than _everything_ we've seen so far, has the one time where a marriage goes _perfectly_?"

A: "Pretty stupid, eh Shin-chan?"

R: "I doubt we should be _complaining_."

_Be Human_ (78)

A: "WELL AIN'T _THAT_ CONVENIENT!"

K: "It _is_ indeed a rather handy contrivance. Nephilimhood doesn't just disappear overnight."

R: "Of course, we should consider that Shinji's Nephilim status was anomalous to begin with. Perhaps this is the universe _correcting_ itself."

S: "Surely if you could live in _Japan_ , you could live in _Germany_ as well. Even if you _were_ classified as KIA."

Asuka shrugged. "It's probably heavily classified, even to the NERV in Germany."

Z: "You don't seem to mind?"

A: "It's pretty shitty regardless, but I _guess_ if that was the explanation."

H: "Didn't seem to affect _us_."

E: "No one even really knew you _existed_ in the first place. It would've been more complicated for _your_ parents, I imagine."

A: "Well, they got to the States _somehow_. I'm assuming _Ritsuko_ issued passports for them."

K: "So you _could_ go to Germany, if NERV allowed you."

A: "Yeah, _if_."

S: "Though, it sounds like we _are_ independent."

R: "Perhaps the endgame scenario is similar to _Wolk's_ , where the Evangelion was rendered _both_ unnecessary and a non-issue."

A: "Great for _us_ , ain't it?"

**(79)**

Z: "I'm assuming that was _intended_ , this time around."

A: "...I never would've known about the _first_ time, if... my mind never came back to me."

K: "Amazing how well you've recovered, then. It's clear Shinji loves you regardless."

S: "As... I would. Also, _accounting_?"

R: "Who knows what we could do _outside_ of piloting. It makes sense NERV would keep us close."

H: "...Is that a difficult thing for you guys to consider?"

A: "Well... when any one of us can die tomorrow, it's kinda hard to plan for the future. I think the _only_ thing that is even _close_ to being on the horizon is our marriage, but I don't even know if _that'll_ come up."

E: "It's... a nice thought. But it's evident this world does not offer free lunches."

Asuka huffed. "I won't be surprised if there's _more_ bullshit we have to deal with before we can get _some_ quiet."

S: "...It's _been_ pretty quiet as of late, hasn't it?"

A: "Probably would've been a good time to get married, eh Shin-chan?"

K: "It's a shame you just invoked the wrath of the universe."

A: "It's _always_ like that against _us_."

**(80)**

Asuka pouted towards Shinji.

S: "Now now, you know you should wait for everyone else to arrive."

She continued pouting. "That's nice food, though."

R: "Hence why you should _wait_."

K: "Despite the passing of time, you still seem rather... juvenile. At least by looking at _this_."

E: "Well, if she lost her mind, it would have to be rebuilt. And... if _Shinji_ was the one doing the rebuilding."

A: "...Then again, what _could_ he rebuild? He only has his _memory_ to rebuild me from the ground up."

H: "...I imagine only the _good_ memories. Considering the _other_ Asuka was forgotten about."

S: "...So I pretty much... built you in _my_ image." A grimace. "I'm pretty sure that's _exactly_ what the other Asuka complained about."

_This_ Asuka huffed. "I can't blame you, Shinji. Though if I _am_ this juvenile, maybe you could've waited a _bit_ longer to get hitched."

**(81)**

A: "...Yeah, _that's_ not a great implication when I've _just given birth_."

S: "...Doesn't paint _me_ in a great light either... You'd think NERV would _also_ try to rebuild you."

K: " _Or_ , perhaps since they saw your relationship as _strong_ , they put _you_ in charge."

R: "No matter _how_ they went about it, _this_ Asuka would _not_ return to her previous self. Even for _me_ , _I_ had a backup _and_ I had a metaphysical breakthrough that restored myself."

A: "...You don't think that'll happen?"

R: "Well... for one, you had no backup. You were an empty slate, prime for shaping. Two... _this_ you isn't metaphysically attuned, like your other was."

E: "Shinji, at this point, would've _lost_ his Nephilim ability as well. So _he_ couldn't help as well."

Z: "Though... I still think out of _all_ people, Shinji would've been the _best_ option."

A: "...Yeah."

_Fated_ (82)

H: "Sounds like they haven't... come together as well as they did _here_."

K: "...Sometimes that happens. You never know what would happen in the various worlds that drives people together."

E: "Like... here."

K: "Indeed."

A: "By the sounds of it, they're _still_ as they were in the Laserdiscs."

R: "At least in the _Laserdiscs_ , they had that connection. And Misato had that _longing_ for him after he died."

S: "Even in _this_ , they didn't look _as_ close as they appeared in the Laserdiscs. Probably can't even _compare_ it to this world."

Z: "...Guess they just weren't lucky, this time around."

**(83)**

R: "...They certainly think that."

K: "Even if that is not the case."

A: "Maybe for _our_ world."

S: "...Considering even _our_ relationship in this has some... implications."

E: "He even says they are rather alike."

R: "And yet, their relationship appears to be faltering."

Z: "While yours is not?"

A: "Well... we _have_ gone down a different path to them. As Kaji said."

**(84)**

Z: "...And you _do_ look happy."

A: "...Well, there's always that argument that ignorance is bliss. I wouldn't know much else, other than Shinji loves me."

S: "Would... that be how you'd want to _live_ though? I know you _like_ being yourself."

A: "...I mean, it's better than being a vegetable. At least you're taking care of me."

R: "It seems Kaji knows what _you_ did saved him."

K: "Even if it was merely those butterflies you affected."

S: "...I wonder if I _knew_ that."

**(85)**

H: "Well, _that's_ awkward."

R: "I wonder what _did_ happen between them, to cause this kind of animosity."

A: "Knowing Kaji, he might _still_ be womanising."

S: "Give him _some_ credit, he's pretty much _stopped_ that."

K: "And they _do_ have history. I wouldn't be surprised if it took those two significant development in order to... move past those."

E: "...Well, they managed that _here_. Even just _looking_ at them, you can tell they have _something_."

A: "Hey Shinji? How do you think Kensuke'll react if I call him _glasses glasses_?"

Shinji snorted. "Probably shrug it off like he usually does."

_Forgiveness_ (86)

K: "We still have a small way to go before we can do _that_."

R: "A _lot_ of time would have passed, if Shinji can _legally_ drink."

S: "I _did_ just drink soda water. Don't exactly need ID for _that_."

A: "I'm sure Misato would've appreciated it anyway. Especially considering her... situation with Kaji."

Z: "Of course, you lot don't seem to mind spending time with her either way."

Asuka huffed. "For all the shit we put her through, we _do_ like her."

**(87)**

E: "Seems she returns the favour."

A: "Surely we should _always_ have the right to be happy."

K: "I think it's more so you _struggle_ to get this happiness. As we did here."

S: "What, we didn't do that in the Laserdiscs?"

R: "I think by this point in the Laserdiscs, too many traumatising events were happing in too quick a succession."

H: "Could say the same thing of _this_."

R: "Except, instead of shutting down, Shinji decided _this_ time around to funnel this trauma into _determination_."

S: "...I'm sure the _brief_ moments of happiness I had would've helped."

Z: "And it _is_ those brief moments of finding your own happiness that influenced her, here."

H: "...Kinda like _us_."

**(88)**

A: "What country is _that_?"

K: "It _was_ a South American country."

E: "I assume that means it's no longer an entity."

K: "I think it's a part of Greater Brazil now? Southern Hemisphere geopolitics are not my strongest point, but I can always research.”

S: "Don't think it's _anyone's_."

R: "Kaji would probably know. He spent time in the Southern Hemisphere, did he not?"

A: "Wasn't that _Australia_? Or _Bendigo_ , as it's called now."

S: "I'm pretty sure there were _three Australia's_ , at least judging by what he said."

H: "So other than the politics of it all, _why_ do they think people sacrificing themselves for them entitles them to _no_ happiness? If _I_ sacrificed myself for someone, I'd _want_ them to live life to the fullest."

Z: "We _did_ sacrifice ourselves, darling. But at least with _our_ friends, they _did_ live life to the fullest."

K: "...It's survivor's guilt. I would expect Misato to have such a thing, based on how she... _reacts,_ to the events surrounding Second Impact."

Shinji glanced around. "...What about _Kaji_? Do we know what _he_ went through?"

R: "...While it _is_ likely he has a similar story to Misato, he... has not told us."

K: "I would expect he told Misato about such a thing. As in _this_ work."

S: "...If he hasn't told us about it _now_..."

**(89)**

E: "Either way. Even _without_ knowing the full story. It reminded you of _yourself_."

S: "I... would not want Misato to think that way. Not after everything she's done for me."

Z: "What could you do to... _help_ her, then?"

S: "...I could forgive her."

**(90)**

A: "...I wonder if she wanted to hear that."

K: "She _needed_ to hear that. No one else could tell her that."

S: "...Do you think she's _still_ like this?"

R: "I... think _here_ , she has come to terms with what happened. I would not be surprised if Kaji, with her help, _also_ came to terms with whatever happened."

Z: "She didn't get that in _this_ work, did she?"

A: "Not like her and Kaji had that good a relationship in this."

E: "...Either way. It looks like this has... affected her."

**(91)**

K: "...But she needed to hear it regardless."

A: "That... would be a good time to hug her, Shinji."

R: "I wonder if this will... _help_ those two."

_Recollection_ (92)

Z: "Would this be where you... _remember_?"

S: "Maybe... either way, it looks like I'm thinking about something."

A: "All the while I'm sleeping. Rather _dumbly,_ at that."

K: "Perhaps you were able to say it so easily because you _were_ happy. With how events had ended out."

H: "Did you want to pass on the favour?"

S: "...I _would_ want to."

**(93)**

Z: "Oi, that's what _we_ were saying!"

E: "You do not need a _right_ to be happy. You need the _will_."

R: "And Shinji had plenty of _that_ , in this work."

S: "...As those words suggest."

A: "...And yeah, you _earned_ your happiness here. And... _here_."

K: "I'm sure you are reminded of that every time you're... _together._ "

Asuka huffed. "As _you_ would be."

**(94)**

H: "Is that a _murderous_ look or a _desperate_ look?"

A: "It's hard to tell for her, honestly."

R: "I would think Shinji's talk with her _helped_."

Z: "Of course, they're in a _military situation_. So I doubt it's appropriate."

K: "Coming from _you_ , Zero Two."

A smug smile.

E: "Either way, I'd hate to be the guys in the way of her and Kaji."

**(95)**

R: "I like how they blamed _Kaji_ for this." Deadpan.

K: "Not too dissimilar to _this_ world."

E: "Though it's interesting to see _Fuyutsuki_ has become the Commander, in this situation."

A: "Honestly, the only reason _Misato's_ the Commander in the first place is cause she was able to point her gun faster."

K: "At _that_ point, they were _all_ pointing their guns at Fuyutsuki."

S: "Wasn't it that coup that caused the _ceasefire_ anyway? So we could actually _speak_ with the UN without them shooting us?"

A: "I'm sure the fact we completely _decimated_ the MP-Eva helped."

H: "There's also the sight of _you and Rei_ being friendly with one another."

Z: "Considering _what_ happened, that's pretty miraculous, ain't it?"

R: "Makes me seem almost... normal."

**(96)**

R: "I am sure _Misato_ would see it like that."

A: " _You_ would too, Rei."

R: "Considering they are _already_ planning on marriage, I believe he _is_ atoning."

K: "Even if it was _Misato_ to initially break things off with him."

Rei huffed. "Either way. Looks like your influence has _helped_ her, Shinji."

S: "As... I would've hoped. They deserve happiness as well."

Z: "As everyone does."

_Promise Made_ (97)

R: "...Yet _another_ reminder, of what you forgot."

S: "Thing is... have _I_ kept that promise?"

K: "It depends on whether _Asuka_ considers it a promise kept."

A: "...If my other is even _around_ , anymore. She seemed... _alright_ with being forgotten though."

E: "Is _anyone_ really alright with being forgotten?"

H: "Considering we established that _other_ Asuka to be separate from _you_."

Z: "I'd imagine _she_ wouldn't be too pleased with seeing _this_ Asuka. In _Shinji's image_."

Asuka pursed her lips. "Oh yeah. Yeah she is _not_ gonna like that."

**(98)**

H: "You... seem to be rather averse to Shinji leaving."

A: "I am _here_ as well!"

K: "You can understand her thinking. The love of her life, husband and father. Who spent his time _rebuilding_ her. It makes sense you have a sort of loyalty to him."

R: "...I wonder if this is _foreshadowing_ something."

Asuka perked an eyebrow. "What do you think's gonna happen?"

R: "I am... not sure. But all this seems rather... too _good_. For what Kimigabuchi has done to us."

S: "There's always a _catch_ , isn't there?"

A: "...It _does_ seem rather good. And with that contrivance at the start of this part."

E: "What could this catch be, then?"

A: "...I don't know."

**(99)**

Z: "That promise wasn't made."

A: "...Ain't _that_ a foreshadow."

R: "Would you know _now_?"

A: "...It'll be something to break _her_ heart."

S: "I think I realise that."

E: "...Could it be like Gurren Lagann? With the false, idealised worlds?"

**(100)**

H: "As you said. This _is_ what you wanted."

S: "But even _I_ know. What you _want_ is not what you _get_."

A: "Not in... _this_ world, at least."

R: "This is _exactly_ like what you idealised."

K: "It is indeed suspicious. Bordering on _unrealistic_."

E: "So it _is_ like Gurren Lagann..."

**(102)**

R: "...Perhaps a world _as_ idealistic as _that_ one is enough for Shinji to be... satisfied."

K: "You could spend a year in hell for a day in heaven, and that would be enough for you."

S: "...So _that's_ what this is. Heaven."

A: "Well... we already established it's rather... suspiciously _good_. It probably _is_ a kind of heaven."

E: "Even a heaven made by your _mind_ , as in Gurren Lagann."

K: "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet." He quoted.

Z: "But... if _that's_ the case. Then the real world will have its due."

K: "...Indeed."

**(103)**

E: "And it sounds like _you've_ had enough of this dream, Shinji."

S: "...It's just that. A dream. They don't last forever, do they?"

R: "As befits a dream. They offer fleeting happiness."

K: "Even so. This dream taught him something valuable. What he wants to protect."

_Promise Kept_ (104)

A: "...So it _was_ just a dream."

E: "Most likely during the time he was rendered unconscious."

Asuka grumbled. "God damn it."

H: "It _was_ too good to be true, wasn't it?"

A: "Blatantly. Damn it."

S: "I _didn't_ forget you, then."

K: "Maybe it was _her_ that gave you this dream. We know she did it _before_."

Z: "...At least she gave you _that_ much."

**(106)**

A: "...Hang on, is it _real_ or not?"

R: "Prophetic, perhaps. If we consider _this_ Shinji to not be the Shinji of this world, as this Asuka was not the Asuka of this world."

Z: "There's _another_ Shinji?"

K: "He would've had to come back _somehow_. That is, if the _original_ Shinji still exists."

S: "...Do you think that was the case in _Wolk's_ work as well?"

R: "If it is, then it was not discussed."

H: "So Shinji the _Angel_ is a separate entity from the _other_ Shinji."

E: "I think this is what they are trying to say. But... that means he may still die."

S: "...I knew I had to die anyway. Maybe... _this_ is a way to give me _something_."

A: "Well it's the _least_ I could do for you, after all the shit I put you through!"

**(107)**

K: "There goes the dream."

R: "Just like that, it is done."

A: "And I'm _still_ my young height?"

Z: "You look rather _timid,_ regardless."

**(108)**

E: "You _could've_ , easily."

A: "...You're keeping that promise."

S: "As I would, Asuka."

R: "I do not think you expected this either way. Still."

A: "Considering... what happened. And how she'd be thinking."

H: "You... _wanted_ him to stay there, Asuka?"

A: " _She_ did. But... I don't think she'll mind having him... come along."

**(109)**

Asuka chuckled. "Kinda like my... older self."

K: "That might as well be an _improvement_ from your current mental state."

Z: "I'm sure it's still there. Stuff like that wouldn't just... _go_."

A: "It's certainly not _gone_. And... she'd have a long way to go."

S: "...It's a start."

A: "Yeah."

E: "What would happen to you two now?"

R: "...They have to leave _somehow_." A glance towards Hiro and Zero Two.

_Jian_ (110)

E: "...And _despite_ what Ma did."

S: "If... we _wanted_ that."

K: "You two are _interlopers_. From a time not your own."

A: "And... well, we saved this world already. We're... no longer needed."

S: "Making room for the _other_ ourselves?"

Asuka smiled. "Maybe we'll end up back in the Instrumentality world. Have it like Wolk's work."

Z: "...I don't think _she'll_ take this well."

H: "Considering Ibuki _wanted_ to save him."

R: "No one wanted Shinji to do this. But..."

S: "I... have to. We don't _belong_ there, do we?"

**(111)**

K: "With this... that will _end_ the loop."

S: "And... _us_."

A: "Not the _other_ us."

Z: "You think you'll end up like _us_?"

A: "That's the hope, isn't it? Course, considering our world is the _Instrumentality_ world."

R: "Either way... this is the end for you two in _this_ world."

Asuka huffed. "Side by side. Eh, Shinji?"

S: "That... isn't so bad."

**(112)**

E: "I mean, the mood is already pretty _dampened_ as it is."

A: "...She really is back to my Laserdisc self, isn't she?"

Z: "Dying as yourself."

K: "Reminiscent, is it not?"

Zero Two's hand drifted to her darling's. "Yeah."

R: "But... this _is_ what you two wanted."

S: "If... it's to make sure that world is fine. Then yeah. That's alright."

**(114)**

R: "But your actions would ripple through this world."

K: "And at the going down of the sun, and in the morning. They will remember you."

A: "...Probably not _me_ , per se. But Shinji, certainly."

H: "...Is that the moon? Or..."

E: "A metaphor."

_Return_ (116)

S: "But... things keep on going. At least _you're_ still around, in _some_ way."

A: "...Considering my mental state. At least my _other_ had intelligence greater than that of a two year old."

**(117)**

R: "She... is fading."

K: "Shinji is gone, so are his powers. The loop is finished. This... would be reality correcting itself."

H: "Not even God could stop that?"

R: "I do not think she was _ever_ God. Just... a child of love. _Their_ child."

Z: "...So she's spending her final moments with her mother."

A: "I... don't know if she _can_ remember her."

K: "It would be through an echo. As me."

R: "...You just have to be by her side, Asuka."

A: "Even if she _wasn't_ my child... I'd do that."

**(118)**

A: "If... I'm even home."

E: "It's... evident you _care_."

H: "It _is_ prophecy."

R: "Indeed. She... is of them. And... she will be born to them. As we saw."

S: "...I guess that means I'm _still here_?"

K: "Your _other_. Not Shinji the _Angel_ , but Shinji as he was in the Laserdiscs. Just after Leliel."

Z: "Looks like _something_ might go right."

**(119)**

A: "...At least we know _why_ I... was like that."

R: "And now, she will return to you."

K: "And with _that_. _You_ should return as well."

S: "...It sounded like that was _always_ going to be the case."

Z: "She made the difference between the loop... ending. Right?"

R: "Yes. All out of love for her parents."

E: "And now she's... returned to Asuka."

Internally, she cancelled a few alarms from her Freudian daemon.

**(120)**

A: "Well. _That_ was a quick recovery."

Z: "I like how nonchalant you are about this."

A: "How else _can_ I react? I'm getting pretty close to drained at this point."

R: "A break might be in order soon."

A: "Well, we got _this_ to get through, at least. I _really_ don't know what happened, do I?"

S: "If... your memory goes back to Armisael."

E: "So how do you think Suzuhara would react?"

K: "I... don't think he would appreciate the way he was waken up."

A: "I guarantee if he _tries_ the same thing he did with Rei, I'll stuff him into a trash can."

**(121)**

H: "He's reacting like _anyone_ would in that situation."

A: "Okay, I'll give him _that_."

S: "You... don't even know he's the _pilot_?"

A: "Yeah, that must've been-" She realised. " _Oh for fucks sake_! Did I forget about _us_?"

R: "Kimigabuchi strikes again."

**(122)**

E: "...Curious."

A: "I... imagine that's the influence of... her." She sighed. "I don't even know her name."

R: "They have not mentioned her. We would have noticed."

K: "Even if you don't _want_ to cry."

A: "Not in front of _him_. To anyone else, _maybe_."

S: "Depends how far back you've lost your memory."

_Remain_ (123)

S: "We... knew I was alive."

A: "From our child."

Z: "I imagine it'll be a pleasant surprise to the _others_ at NERV."

R: " _Certainly_. They never wanted you to die anyway."

S: "...Do you think _my_ mind is wiped as well?"

K: "He is not the Angel you. Those memories would've never existed at all."

H: "...So this is the _actual_ Shinji. The one native to this world."

E: "Exactly. And... practically a clean slate."

A: "Like nothing ever happened." She spat.

**(124)**

A small smile on Rei. "There it is."

K: " _They_ would know what happened, at least."

Z: " _Those_ memories are still there. Kinda like our friends, eh darling?"

H: "Even if you two as you were aren't _there_ anymore, the memory lives on."

S: "...The fact _Asuka's_ returned as well must've come as a shock to them, as well."

A: "Hopefully a _welcome_ one."

E: "...If _both_ of you don't remember."

A: "...Ah Christ. How's our _reunion_ gonna go?"

**(125)**

A: "Eeyup." Flat as Kansas. "Pretty much as I was expecting."

R: "No memory, no spark."

K: "You'll have to light that fire all over again."

Z: "It wasn't that hard _before_ , was it?"

A: "Considering in the Laserdiscs, there were _several_ attempts at lighting our fire."

S: "Even _here_ , it was more of a slow burn."

A: "At least before I _thrust_ my naked self onto you, like I was Zero Two."

Z: "Hey, it _works_!"

**(126)**

H: "You must've poured something else on the tinder."

A: "So _everything_ from the very start is _gone_?"

E: "Shinji doesn't even know the Angels are _gone_."

K: "From _his_ perspective, the last he recalls was in Leliel."

Z: "By the sounds of it, _you_ don't remember past that as well, Asuka."

S: "It's... pretty much how we expected it to go, wasn't it?"

R: "You are _just like_ your Laserdisc selves, after Leliel."

A: "...We could've at least _forgotten_ that awkward kiss."

**(127)**

Miraculously, they _laughed_ at this shitshow. "Jesus fucking Christ, _that_ wouldn't be a good thing to tell me."

S: "Looks like _I_ haven't taken that well as well."

R: "At least _Toji_ and I seem to have made amends for what happened."

K: "Even if it was mostly _him_ doing it in the first place."

E: "Y'know, I'd think the _first_ thing they told you was of whatever _happened_."

A: "I know for a fact Misato would _never_ pass up the chance to embarrass me."

Z: "At least _here_ , I don't think it was intentional."

**(128)**

R: " _I_ am laughing at this?"

A: "You _know_ , Rei. How close our bond is."

K: "This would just be a bump in the road."

H: "It really _would_ be beginning from here. They have to start all over again."

Z: "...That is a really great _kick_ , Asuka."

A: "Thank you, I'd think so myself if I wasn't kicking _Shinji_."

S: "...Don't think the _others_ would find this too entertaining."

E: "They _also_ know. But... I imagine it'll take you two a while to... restore your relationship."

A: "Well, we're off to a _flying start_ in that regard."

Z: " _You're_ flying, at least."

R: "So is Shinji."

**STOP 129**

"I believe _now_ is the end of this section. Go stretch your legs." Kaworu indicated to Asuka.

"Our room, Shinji?"

"You think I'll deny that?"

So they left.

"...Or stretch your loins, that works as well."

The others found this exchange amusing, at least.

* * *

## Intermission

There was a click.

And yet another click.

The drive head knocked against the back of the rail.

"Dang it. Still garbled."

He was closing in on the issue, at least. Turns out converting a 5 1/4 inch drive to accept 8 inch disks was not as straightforward as he thought. Go figure.

At least it was all rather basic, mechanical parts. Even the test harness was rather simple; read the first three bytes off the disk and output the hexadecimal to the terminal.

"It's probably the motor again." He spoke to himself, his teachers listening in as they were busy with their own devices.

One short adjustment of a potentiometer later, the test began anew.

Click. Click. Click. The drive head knocked back once more.

He compared the hexadecimal on his screen to his paperwork.

And breathed a sigh of relief. "I did it."

Ritsuko investigated his work, and smirked, giving a congratulatory pat on his shoulder. "Good work, Aida. We can take it from here."

"Is... that me done for today?"

"Yeah. You're free to go home now. Remember what we taught you today, Aida."

"I certainly won't forget."

With that, he was gone.

"Throwing him in the deep end early, Sempai?"

"He'll have to learn that _somehow_." She cooly spoke, as she allowed the Magi to have their way with the franken-drive. "I don't want him crashing and burning as soon as we get into battle situations. Plus, we're _still_ being lighter on him then if he were to _enlist_."

"Fair enough. But... I still kinda feel bad."

A small smile. "Kensuke isn't stupid. He probably _knows_ this isn't fun and games. But... it's what he wanted. And he _does_ have ability."

"...He's got his partners as well."

"Indeed. It's easy to tell _they_ are his driving force. I doubt he would be as driven _without_ them."

"Kinda like the pilots. Eh Sempai?"

A nod. "It's nice, having someone to love."

There was a small pause, as Maya moved to rest her head on her Sempai's shoulders, arms wrapped round. "We know that well, don't we?"

Ritsuko, for her part, pecked her on the cheek. Much to her Kohai's blush. "Say. We aren't exactly doing much _now_."

"D-don't we still have that other stuff?"

"The Magi are busy reading and itemising every single bit of information it can squeeze from those drives, and will automatically send them over East once it's all done." Sly, and up close. "We've got _plenty_ of free time."

"...Meep."

~~~

Pen-Pen simply looked stupidly at Zero Two, as he was practically coddled by the dinosaur. "Wark."

"Does he even _like_ that, Zero Two?"

"He's not _opposing_ it, darling. Ain't ya?"

"Wark."

" _Do_ you like this?"

"Wark."

"Does she even _understand_ you, Pen-Pen?" Kaworu spoke from the table.

"Wark wark." The penguin deadpanned.

"How _do_ you understand someone who only speaks in _'Wark wark wark_ '?"

The penguin slapped her, gave an _angry_ Wark, and trudged to the fridge, somehow slamming an automated sliding door.

"That was not a very nice thing to say about his mother."

The pink haired girl pursed lips and folded arms. "Not like _I_ knew what it meant..."

Another door opened. "Before you ask, _no_ we _didn't-_ " Eyes locked to Zero Two. "Did Pen-Pen do something to upset her?"

"He did that feigned offence thing he does when strangers try to speak like him." Rei monotoned.

"Wait, _what_?" Zero Two knocked on his fridge. "Pen-Pen you _goose_!"

She swore she could hear him _laughing_ from behind the locked door.

"Yeah, he does that." Shinji hid his amusement well.

"I assume we are all ready to continue?"

As soon as everyone was seated, they did just that.

* * *

### 2.A: Re-Take After

Note: This covers the REMAINDER of VOLUME 3 of the Non-H version of Re-Take, roughly corresponding to the AFTER volume of the H version.

_Go Back_ (130)

A: "So what are the chances we got back together these two months?"

Rei gave her a flat look.

A: "Low. Got it."

**(131)**

Z: "At the _very_ least, it's good to see this place is getting back on its feet."

S: "Considering it got _nuked_."

E: "I would expect there to _still_ be a giant hole at the Geofront, though."

A: "If NERV is even _at_ the Geofront anymore. It got pretty trashed."

R: "Even _with_ it being trashed, it would _still_ be the best place for NERV to operate out of."

**(132)**

The gathered grimaced.

H: "I'm guessing this means you two haven't patched things up."

K: "It would be a bit more than a _patch job_."

A: "Considering we _both_ have no memory of what the hell happened. It'd be just like our _Laserdisc_ selves trying to get together."

S: "Surely these two months would've been _calm_ enough."

Asuka shrugged. "With how fucked our _Laserdisc_ selves are, this might as well be par for the course."

**(133)**

R: "I imagine seeing yourselves like _this_ would be... jarring."

A: "Kinda, yeah. But _somehow_ this is _still_ better than what happened _before_."

S: "...Not like we're dying or anything."

E: "Though these are _not_ the same Shinji and Asuka we have been witnessing. Even the base Asuka that Shinji the _Angel_ influenced is no longer an entity."

K: "And the last significant thing they remember between the two of them was that _kiss_. Shinji is still the Shinji of the Laserdiscs, except he has never gone through everything from the end of Leliel onwards. Same as Asuka."

A: "That's... probably why I'm reacting like this."

**(134)**

Z: "I thought they said you _couldn't_ go back to Germany."

K: "That was during the _dream sequence_ that the other Asuka gave Shinji."

R: "I thought that was more _prophetic_ than a dream."

E: "If it _was_ prophecy, then all this is building up to an obvious conclusion."

A: "Considering the universe apparently wants us to be an item. Not that I _mind_ ; pretty much the _only_ thing they give us."

S: "...So we're just taking the long way."

A: "Probably a similar path you can _expect_ two damaged teens with little social skills to go down."

H: "Which yours _wasn't_?"

A: "We had that same kiss in the Laserdiscs, except it went way better and we pretty much became inseparable from then on."

S: "We didn't even go on a _date_ until... _after_ a few things."

R: " _None_ of our relationships are what would have been anticipated for any _other_ person of our ages."

**(135)**

A: "That's pretty much _my_ reaction with all this."

S: "Even though I think that's _me_ saying that."

_Class_ (136)

Asuka burst out laughing. "Okay, yeah I can see _why_ I would do that."

S: "...Probably not the _best_ choice of words."

R: "They might even be the _worst_ words to say to a Laserdisc Asuka."

Z: "Not even considering she _wants_ to go back to this Germany. Can't really stop them if they _want_ to."

A: " _NERV_ could."

E: "I imagine they _would_ , if that dream _is_ prophetic."

**(137)**

H: "No wonder she's angry at you, Shinji."

A: "At least _Rei's_ still friendly with you. After all _she's_ been through."

R: "I _remember_ , unlike him or you."

S: "...Of course, the fact that _Asuka's_ there."

R: "Will most likely anger her more." A small smirk.

A: "Cheeky."

**(138)**

Kaworu huffed. "You probably saved his life, Rei."

R: "I would not doubt it."

E: "I wonder if you're gonna try _pushing_ them together, Rei."

R: "Well, I know of their love. And even if the memories go, the _feelings_ would still be there."

S: "We... just need to _know_ they're there."

**(139)**

Z: "I suppose that is where she _tells_ you about your relationship."

S: "...I wonder why I never thought to make Evangelion based food."

A: "Considering we often try to get _away_ from Evangelion."

R: "I am more amazed I can _cook_ something like that."

K: "I wonder if the ingredients are veiled jabs at _us_."

E: "What _is_ obvious is that he picked _Unit-02_."

Z: "You guys sure have your priorities straight."

A: "Maybe we're hungry, it's getting to that time anyway. Speaking of, Shinji?"

S: "I'll have a look after this, see what I can whip up."

**(140)**

K: "I imagine this _would_ be rather jarring to you. Like an _other_ Shinji lived your life for you."

H: "That's _exactly_ what happened. You could probably say the same for _Asuka_ as well."

A: "Even though I _should've_ remembered up to Armisael, at least."

Z: "Would that _really_ be as good? Cause then _you_ would remember your relationship with Shinji, but he _won't._ "

Asuka thought. And grimaced. "Okay, maybe this _is_ a better option."

S: "...At least you wouldn't have to suffer _me_ forgetting. If we _both_ forgot what happened."

E: "We already suggested she was rolled back to right after Leliel, which fits with the start of the _other_ Shinji's influencing."

R: "Because _he_ died, or went back, you forgot about him. And, since Shinji was a major part of your life after Leliel."

A: "So now _both_ of us are going through this. The universe just can't make it _easy_ for us, can it?"

Z: "At least you don't have any of that _trauma_ in your mind."

K: "It is often that same trauma that helps us _develop_ as people. These two have had that _removed_ from themselves."

A: "Going back quite a bit in our development." Grumbling. "I don't like my _old_ self that much."

S: "...I don't think _any_ of us likes our older selves."

**(141)**

R: "I... _know_ that?"

K: "You of all people will know that _this_ Shinji is a different Shinji to the Shinji we have focused on."

E: "With what he went through during the Laserdiscs and Instrumentality, it would've been a profound difference to see him."

A: "But _I_ am still the same Asuka, am I?"

S: "Hence why you _could_ remember. But... the _other_ Shinji is dead."

Z: "And by the looks of it, you two as you are... aren't really that friendly?"

A: "Kinda obvious, isn't it?"

_Responsibility_ (142)

A: "...Oh God. I would've forgotten about _that_ as well."

S: "We _both_ would've. But _he_ would remember."

H: " _Everyone_ would."

Z: "This isn't gonna go well, is it?"

A: "Considering it's the _stooge_ trying to teach him to take responsibility."

S: "It's _honourable_ , at least."

A: "Maybe so, but _she_ thinks she _doesn't_ need anyone to take responsibility for herself, much less _you_ , Shinji."

K: "In _that_ world."

A: "Well, yeah. Here, I _know_ Shinji would take responsibility."

E: "Would you have been told that?"

A: "I mean, two months have passed. Surely _someone_ would've told me."

R: "You would not believe such a thing could be _possible._ "

A: "Yeah that's probably true as well."

**(143)**

R: "Famous last words?"

A: "Y'know, Toji isn't really a great influence on you."

K: "He _is_ a friend of his. Considering _you two_ do not have that kind of relationship."

E: "It _does_ sound like you two _know_."

H: "I imagine that would _not_ help."

**(144)**

S: "No. It really wouldn't."

Asuka sighed. "Damn it."

Z: "That's not a bad hit, Asuka."

H: "It's a shame she's hitting _Shinji_."

E: "I would think _Toji_ should've been the one hit. He's been the one... _egging_ him on."

A: "But all _I_ can focus on is my _hatred_ of Shinji. That's why I'd hit _him_."

**(145)**

R: "This... is just the clash of what _he_ thinks he should do, and what _you_ want."

A: " _She_ wants nothing to do with Shinji."

K: "I wonder if people trying to push you two back together would have influenced your opinion of him."

A: "...I doubt that helps. Though we _know_ those feelings would still be there."

**(146)**

Rei had a pursed look. " _Could_ you have still been with child after what happened with Armisael?"

H: "Didn't we establish it _was_ this child that saved her? And... _everyone_?"

K: "...It _could_ still be possible. Considering _what_ has happened in this so far."

A: "I mean, it _is_ my body. And she's still pretty _young_. But... I personally wouldn't do _that_ , unless I _had_ to. And... I know _Shinji's_ thoughts on that."

S: "...You _there_ , though."

Asuka sighed. "Well. She wouldn't _care_ about you, would she?"

**(147)**

A: "There _is_ that, as well. Shit, even _here_ I don't _like_ feeling like baggage."

S: "...Though even _here_ , I'd probably feel that way."

A: "I know. And I know it comes from a good place. That's one of the issues I have with that whole _taking responsibility_ business this country has. It's not just the _man_ that has to take responsibility."

Z: "Maybe next time, get advise from someone _other_ than him."

S: "He comes from a good place, if a more... _traditional_ place."

R: "He try this with _Hikari_ , she would not put up with it."

E: "Like _here_."

**(148)**

S: "...There is _that,_ as well."

K: " _Both_ of you cannot recall. It's like it never happened."

H: "To them."

R: "It is the influence of _others_ driving him to do this."

A: "Specifically _Toji_."

Z: "Surely you'd do something _else_ to get on her good side."

S: "Well, at the _start_ of all this, we seemed to be getting along _warmly_ , if anything."

E: "It helped you had _hindsight_. You _knew_ how to interact with her."

R: "This you does _not_ have hindsight."

A: "Not even mentioning these are our _Laserdisc_ selves. At least up to _Leliel_."

S: "...Though even _up_ to Leliel."

_Horaki_ (149)

R: "...We know _her_ perspective on things, at least."

A: " _She's_ pretty traditional as well. At least when it comes to _that_ kind of business."

Z: "Does she have a point, though?"

A: "...Yeah, she does. I can see how _that_ would make it look like I _hate_ him. Especially if I didn't even _talk_ to him about it."

S: "...Considering I'm still _trying_."

K: "It's all rather complicated business. She would have her reasonings for her actions."

R: "...The fact she is _living_ with Hikari instead of with Misato, implies she does not even want to _be_ with you, Shinji."

E: "That's probably why she wants to move back to Germany. To get as far as possible from all this."

A: "...I can definitely see _her_ trying that."

H: "Though this scene is reminiscent of a _Laserdisc_ scene. Isn't it?"

Asuka huffed. "Yeah. The scenario's pretty similar as well. Though... I'm not sure what that _console_ I'm playing on is."

R: "It vaguely reminds me of _my_ console."

**(150)**

K: "You _know_ there was something between you two."

A: "Of _course_ I would. Everyone would've told us by now. Quite _incessantly_ , by the sounds of it."

E: " _They're_ moving you back to Germany? Perhaps that _prophecy_ was incorrect."

R: "If it was prophecy to begin with."

A: "Well, the Angels and Unit-02 is gone. And I don't like Shinji. So... there's not really a reason for me to stay."

S: "...There's _Hikari_ , at least."

A: "The _only_ friend I _think_ I have there. I'd probably keep in touch with her through email or something."

Z: "I can see how that time limit could... reduce your drive in getting closer to him."

A: "Especially with how I'm thinking _now_. I know _Shinji_ wouldn't like that, but I'd just want to get away from all that."

**(151)**

S: "...There is _that_. None of us even _know_."

A: "And... we know your Laserdisc self was kinda... _dense_."

S: "Yeah... to _you_ , I'd still be unsure."

R: "Even though it is more he does not _know_ how to show these feelings."

S: "Even _here_ , it took a lucky break for me to show my true feelings. I'm... not really that great at that."

K: "Are any of us? Many of our problems in the Laserdiscs would be moot if we _talked_ about things."

E: "Considering you _all_ seemed to subscribe to the hedgehog's dilemma."

Z: "It's a good thing you _all_ seemed to have talked about that stuff."

A: "It's almost like actually _talking_ with someone makes you grow closer together. Funny how that works, eh?"

**(152)**

A: "I probably _will_ regret it. But... I'm pretty much _doing_ it. Am I?"

H: "You _know_ he likes you and yet you're _still_ leaving?"

Asuka shrugged. "I don't really know what goes through _her_ mind."

E: "It's _you_."

S: "...Maybe it's just getting me to take the initiative, or something."

A: "I know you struggled with that when we _first_ met, _outside_ of Evangelion at least."

Z: "Obviously he got better."

A: "I think us actually _getting together_ helped him in that regard."

S: "It was _you_ who took that initiative anyway, wasn't it?"

Asuka huffed. "I know _you_ struggle with that, Shin-chan. That's why _I_ don't mind taking the initiative with you."

H: "I imagine that makes _him_ taking initiative all the more special for you."

A: "That's pretty much what _she's_ thinking."

_Katsuragi_ (153)

R: "He has certainly been _trying_ to take the initiative."

S: "But... always held back by... well, _everything_ in my mind."

A: "To be fair, Toji didn't help you."

K: "He _would_ be lonely, in this situation. We still have that awkward kiss to consider."

**(154)**

E: "Not just _Asuka_ leaving."

S: "...I'd _really_ be alone."

H: "...Though in _this_ case, it sounds more like the powers that be influencing things."

R: "It _has_ been that. But that would not help _Shinji_."

K: "Though _this_ part of the prophecy was true, regardless. Misato and Kaji being deployed to Guyana."

A: "...So we _could_ still get together? This isn't gonna end up like some soapy romcom where Shinji confesses his feelings to me just before I board a plane to Germany, right?"

Rei giggled. "After _all_ that had happened, it would certainly be a change."

**(155)**

Z: "That's... the same as the prophecy as well, isn't it?"

R: "But we _also_ know from this prophecy that their relationship... was not a great one."

H: "They look rather happy _now_. Maybe something _happened_ in Guyana."

E: "It _is_ war. It can be stressful."

A: "War practically brought _us_ together."

**(156)**

S: "But... it was that _other_ me that brought them together. Not... _him_."

K: "It seems he understands this."

R: "It is the truth. Both Shinji's are completely separate."

E: "You as an _entity_ did not even exist between Leliel and when the Angelic Shinji died."

Z: "Even if it's clear you still _care_ for Asuka."

**(157)**

A: "...Unless he think's _that_."

H: "But she doesn't even remember falling in love with _that_ Shinji."

K: "It was not _Evangelion_ that sparked her love for you. It was _you_. And _you_ still remain."

S: "...You can see _why_ I would think that. Considering _what_ happened between us."

A: "I would think the _first_ thought for a teenage boy when told that would be _that_."

R: "But _Shinji_ would feel bad for having those kind of thoughts. He thinks having _those_ thoughts means it is _not_ love."

**(158)**

E: "Would that be why you're thinking that?"

S: "...That Shinji wasn't _him_. Of _course_ I'd feel like I didn't deserve it."

Z: "But you _still_ fought for that. You _tried_ to get with Asuka even _after_ all that."

A: "We saw how _that_ worked."

K: "...Of course, I doubt Misato will simply leave you hanging like this."

_Assessment_ (159)

A: "Misato's special brand of encouragement."

R: "She _is_ a military woman. As much as she is a role model for us."

S: "...I wonder if it'll help me."

K: "But she raises a good point. The _other_ Shinji was not a superman as well, _despite_ the power he had. _Everything_ he did to make things better had only _worsened_ things for himself."

E: "But his _influence_ still rings on. As you all suggested."

Z: "His influence _saved_ everyone, by the sounds of it."

**(160)**

H: "Of course, to _her_ , he's still the same Shinji of before. Just with no memory."

S: "He could've at least given me _some_ of his confidence."

R: "He left such thing with _everyone_ around him. So that _they_ may give you this instead of he."

K: "Whatever he gave _you_ would've faded as he did. What _doesn't_ fade is the memory of _others_."

Z: "You definitely influenced _her_ , at the very least. She's just trying to return the favour."

**(161)**

E: "A rather _brutal_ assessment."

S: "...One I might _need_."

R: "From _her_ perspective, this is entirely truthful."

A: "She _knows_ how good we can be together, as well."

K: "Seeing Shinji like this _would_ result in this kind of reaction. But just because this _already_ happened with _another_ you, doesn't mean _you yourself_ can't find this happiness as well."

H: "As you guys said. Happiness isn't a _right_ , it's something to be _earned_. The other Shinji did this. Misato and Kaji here are doing this."

S: "...And I'm not?"

A: "Not like _I_ am either, Shinji."

Z: "Do you reckon _this_ pep talk will be _enough_ to encourage you, Shinji?"

S: "Thing is... I don't really know. I know how... _dense_ I can be. He _still_ has all those walls up around him. Walls that, for _me_ , were knocked down _ages_ ago."

K: "Perhaps that is what Misato _wants_."

**(162)**

R: "I would not call it _jealousy_."

K: "It's more he _isn't_ his past self."

S: "...Think Misato could figure that out?"

A: "I imagine it'd be _difficult_ , to say the least. Unless you're Rei."

_Kaji_ (163)

A: "I wonder if she's _still_ into Kaji like... _that_."

Z: "Considering she seems to be your _Laserdisc_ self."

Asuka shuddered. "Yeah, not my finest hour."

R: "An understandable feeling, in your situation at least."

K: "You saw yourself as more _mature_ , compared to your peers."

A: "I _was_ a university student at a young age. Of course... in retrospect."

**(164)**

H: "Though even _if_ he doesn't see you that way, he would still miss you regardless."

A: "Of _course_ he would, I would too. Even _here_. He was one of the _only_ people I felt close to, before coming _here_ at least."

E: "Like a father figure."

A: "Pretty much. Considering _my_ father didn't even so much as _interact_ with me after mama died."

Z: "What about your... what the word for a new partner? I know you talked with her in the Laserdiscs."

A: " _Step_ mother? I don't know _what_ happened in the Laserdiscs, but we somehow had a _cordial_ relationship there."

Z: "...Do I _want_ to ask why that isn't the case here?"

A: "She tried to _drug me_ into being her placid little _doll_. GEHIRN caught wind of this, the government got involved, and I became a ward of Kaji at the age of _six_."

Zero Two didn't have any words, wide eyed in shock.

A: "Yeah. That's... one of the _many_ reasons why I loved Kaji the way I did. And... I still hold him in high regard today."

K: "...Even if that wasn't the case in the Laserdiscs, and indeed in _this_ work. That regard is still evident."

Z: "...Did..." She gave a glance to Shinji.

Who merely nodded.

**(165)**

R: "Perhaps _that_ was why he wanted to delay your return to Germany."

A: "...Maybe. But... I think he would do that to give me more time with Shinji."

E: " _He_ was also influenced by this other Shinji."

S: "He's not _dead_ this time around."

H: "That's a rather _marked_ improvement over the Laserdiscs."

Z: "What kind of computer _is_ that?"

A: "I'm amazed you even know that's a _computer_. That's a fucking _Macintosh_ , what could you even _do_ on a three decade old system in _this_ time?"

S: "Isn't that the computer our _sensei_ uses?"

A: "Why am I not surprised at that."

**(166)**

A: "...I _don't_ want to go back?"

S: "You... probably didn't want to say that to _anyone_. Except Kaji."

Z: "You _did_ say you were close. He... would be the _only_ person you could say this to."

H: "Was the training _really_ that bad?"

A: "The _training_ wasn't. It was hard work, don't get me wrong, but _I_ saw it as _necessary_ in order to get... well, _trained_. It was shit to start _off_ , but once I became a ward it got better."

E: "I would think it was the _same_ training any Evangelion pilot would've gotten."

K: "I think Asuka was the _only_ one to have _traditional_ Evangelion training. Rei and I, while we would've had _some_ training in order to utilise the controls effectively, our intrinsic ability would've made up for a majority of our skill."

S: "And I was just thrown in an entry plug one day. I _still_ don't have the emergency directives, even _after_ watching the Laserdiscs with _everyone_."

A: "They were _pointless_ either way. Which I remember _saying_ at the time."

H: "The training is just an _excuse_ , then." He thought to get discussion back on track.

A: "I wouldn't be surprised. She's just... tsun."

**(167)**

K: "Germany isn't _that_ bad."

A: "Oh I _know_ it isn't that bad. The government made sure of that."

E: "Perhaps _here_. Who knows the geopolitics at play in _this_ work, considering there are whole _countries_ that do not exist in comparison."

Z: "Kinda odd how, despite many _minor_ differences, most things are still kinda the same."

R: "A whole _country_ not existing is a bit more than _minor_ , I would think."

S: "Either way, it's evident _Kaji_ want to help you."

A: "How... do you _think_ he could help me?"

H: "I don't think trying to push you to Shinji would help."

K: "Maybe it's to get you to say what you _really_ want. We know _you_ have feelings for Shinji as well, _despite_ everything that's happened."

S: "...Kinda like what Misato did for _me_."

**(168)**

A: "...Pretty much, Shinji. He just want to see me smile, again. Like before."

R: "But now, no matter _what_ decision she makes. It will be a decision she _wants_."

Z: "Other than the fact this is _all_ out of her control, even if she _wanted_ to be with Shinji."

E: "If she _really_ didn't want to go, there's always a _way_ you can influence things."

S: "Kaji already _tried_ that, by the sounds of it."

K: "...Maybe you'll just have to go to Germany _with_ her, Shinji."

S: "...I don't think _I_ would mind that."

_Fallen_ (169)

E: "She... would be visiting the Commander."

K: "She cared for him. Even if it wasn't requited."

A: "Probably the _only_ person who cared for him, other than your mum, Shinji."

S: "I think my mum _is_ the only person who cared for him, at least _here_."

Z: "With _what_ happened, I can kinda understand your _dislike_ of him."

A: "I wouldn't be surprised if he tried _killing_ us once we weren't useful to him."

R: "Considering _I_ was meant to kill Kaworu."

H: "Well _that_ didn't work out."

Z: "You'd be glad at that, eh Kaworu?"

K: "Living _is_ rather nice, especially if I could spend my life with someone like Rei."

She blushed.

**(170)**

S: "I'm just as surprised as _she_ is."

E: "It's obvious _what_ you want. She was the last person to see him living. You could at least get _that_ closure."

H: "...Do you have that kind of closure _here_? Since... well, he's not around anymore."

Shinji gave a glance to Rei. "I know enough."

K: "...Your _other_ wouldn't. All he knows, you woke up and your father _died_."

S: "...Do you think that would change my opinion of him?"

R: "To you, he never risked your friend's life, or killed Asuka. Or anything else that happened in the Laserdiscs, after Leliel."

A: "You might actually have a _positive_ outlook on him, Shinji."

S: "How odd."

**(171)**

K: "Well. Would you look at that."

A: "It took only to his final moments to actually be a _father_ to you, Shinji."

S: "...It's more than he _ever_ done for me."

Z: "Does that rank him... _higher_ than the Gendo of here?"

A: "There's all that _other_ shit he did, don't forget."

E: "Mama has a point, this is completely at _odds_ to the former Commander. Was he _inspired_ by you, perhaps?"

R: "We know the resident soul of Unit-01 was replaced. Since he could no longer be with _her_ , maybe... having the _result_ of her continue to live was the better option for him."

H: "So his death was a _sacrifice_."

A: "I can't really _believe_ it. Pretty much _everything_ about him has been _antagonistic_ towards us, and then he _saves you_?"

S: "...It's _really_ strange. I... do you think _my_ father would do the same if he was in this situation?"

A: "Considering he actively tried to _break_ us."

K: "Yet another influence of this _other_ Shinji, I would think."

R: "No other Gendo Ikari has done such a thing. The _Laserdisc_ Gendo Ikari only had second thoughts after Instrumentality had _started_."

Z: "Sounds like an asshole no matter _where_ you end up."

**(172)**

R: "Of course, this would not change your mind of him."

S: "Of _course_ it wouldn't. Even not _remembering_ the recent shit he did to me, there's still _everything else_."

A: "Not to mention our _own_ experiences with that asshole."

E: "Though I wonder why you are _here_ , instead of wanting to wish Asuka goodbye."

S: "...He probably thinks she doesn't even _want_ him."

**(173)**

Z: "...That _is_ true. Once you realise, you can make amends."

A: "It's just _when_ I realise. Cause... Shinji is already _trying_."

K: "You _do_ realise. Going back to that prophetic dream."

S: "...Hopefully _her_ words help me realise further."

R: "Looking at you, I think they _do_."

**(174)**

S: "...Maybe _that's_ why I see things like that. Because my _father_ did."

R: "They do say like father like son."

S: "...Thing is, I _know_ I can easily become my father."

A: "Good thing we're here to keep you tethered to _some_ kind of stability."

E: "I'm curious as to what this password is."

K: "If you're hoping for something _secure_ , as should befit a password for the _positron rifle_. Then I doubt it."

A: "It's gonna be something like Jet Alone, isn't it?"

**(175)**

E: "What a terrible password."

H: "Seems like a _significant_ password, however."

R: "It is possible he saw you _as_ the future. As we suggested."

S: "...And yet, I'm _still_ like that."

K: "As you would be. You're still as you were in the Laserdiscs."

A: "...Maybe it's _pushing_ you towards that. _I_ wouldn't mind seeing you and me get together."

Z: "Of course _you_ wouldn't."

R: "But as Ritsuko said. There's always _something_ you can do."

**(176)**

S: "...Hopefully that'll be all I need, then."

A: "Just do it. Eh, Shinji? What's the worst that could happen?"

_Racing_ (177)

E: "It's clear NERV as a whole is sad to see you go."

Z: "Maybe even your class. At least _Hikari._ "

A: "Not that I even _want_ to go."

**(178)**

A: "Oh my God, this really _is_ a romcom." She groaned.

H: "Didn't you _want_ this?"

A: "Maybe. Still, they're playing it up a bit."

R: "As they would be. Makes good action."

S: "Not having a car is gonna handicap me a bit."

E: "It's even _more_ evident you have feelings for Shinji."

A: "And yet I haven't made that clear."

S: "Neither has _I_."

K: "We already said as much."

**(179)**

Z: "Ain't that reminiscent of something."

R: " _They_ want Shinji and Asuka to be together as much as _they_ secretly want to be together."

A: "I think it's only a secret for _me_."

K: "This _does_ remind me of some of Rei's Laserdiscs."

R: "Not _all_ of them are that vapid, trout."

E: "Why _would_ you have a vapid movie like that, if you don't like them?"

R: "Background noise."

E: "Backgro- _Oh_."

**(180)**

S: "Hopefully she doesn't run out of charge or anything."

A: " _That_ would put a damper on things."

H: "And yet more reminiscing."

A: "...You'd think _I_ would know perfectly how much I liked him."

K: "Considering it took you that kiss to _fully_ find out."

R: "If you never figure out how to _unlock_ to someone, then you cannot have a close relationship. You unlocked your heart to Shinji, as he did you. You did this _before_ , but the erasure of your mind locked _both_ your hearts again."

Z: "So he just needs to find that _key_."

R: "The _both_ of them need to. Maybe _she_ is trying to find this key."

**(181)**

A: "Why the fuck could they not make this a romcom from the _start_? I would've _complained_ about it but at least it wouldn't be _traumatising_."

E: "They're really going to lengths to make sure you get together."

Z: "All the while you're continuing to think."

A: "Maybe if I knew how _hard_ they tried to keep me here."

S: "...Those _are_ nice things, are they?"

A: "It's the mundane things like that, that I like. They're like small breaks in the regular day to day chaos of life. As... I say."

**(182)**

R: "As he did here."

K: "And as he did before."

H: "How... did you know the analogy she was gonna use?"

R: "I did not know."

_Airport_ (183)

A: "...Man, I probably think I majorly fucked up somehow."

Z: "What do _you_ think you did?"

A: "Just that." She huffed. "Good thing I have _someone_ who loves me. Eh, Shin-chan?"

He gave a small smile.

**(184)**

R: "That bridge could be an issue."

E: "Maybe her car can climb up an 80 degree incline."

H: "From her reaction, maybe _Shinji_ is trying something."

**(185)**

Asuka gave a light chuckle. "Spider-Shinji."

K: "Goes to show just how _far_ he's willing to go."

S: "...Course, if I told you _earlier_."

A: "Then we wouldn't have all this drama."

**(186)**

Z: "Screw a VTOL, just use a whole _Evangelion_ why don't you."

A: "I thought they were trying to _avoid_ getting the Commander in on it!"

E: "Not that we should be complaining."

A: "I mean, it's a bit _blatant_ using an Evangelion for this kind of thing. What would the UN think?"

R: "We do not _care_ about the UN, do we?"

K: "They _do_ fund us, but other than that."

S: "...At least you want to help us, Rei."

R: "I of all people would know about your love of Asuka. I _would_ want to help."

**(187)**

K: "Ah yes, lying to the government."

A: "Way to go for covering us. Guess I'll give Fuyutsuki that."

H: "He never seemed _that_ bad."

A: "Honestly? The only issue I had with him was how he'd _always_ go with Commander Asshole. Though I'd still prefer _Misato_ as Commander."

R: "Either way, _he_ cares for your relationship as well."

Z: "Amazing how relationships can do that, eh?"

A: "You would know."

**(188)**

S: "...There's also _that_."

Z: "Is _that_ Unit-00's head on Unit-01?"

R: "I recall that was the _only_ part that could _possibly_ be salvaged from Unit-00. Of course, Unit-00 _also_ had pylons, at least _after_ the refit."

A: "With how _damaged_ Unit-00 was after the harpies had their way with it, I would've expected it be _completely_ scrapped."

K: "Helps with her keeping that promise to you, doesn't it?"

_Departures_ (189)

H: "Do any of those cities exist anymore?"

K: "Guam is a glorified atoll at this point, but I wouldn't be surprised if the United States still has a presence there. London is more akin to how _Venice_ was, especially after the bombs dropped. Kaji _already_ said Hong Kong no longer existed. I think Milan's alright, though. I could go on."

A: "Those two barely know _anything_ about this world."

Z: "We know _some_ cities. Tokyo-2, Tokyo-3, Massachusetts."

H: "I think that's _Boston_. Is it Boston?"

K: "It's Boston."

**(190)**

E: "...Waiting to see if he comes?"

A: "Why else would I be waiting?"

S: "What... do you think you'll do if I get there in time?"

A: "I don't know which is worse. Me falling into your arms like some generic romcom, or me just crushing your hopes."

K: "The _former_ sounds preferable."

A: "It _is_ , but it'd _still_ be kinda sappy."

**(191)**

Z: "You _want_ him to come... just so you can _yell_ at him."

A: "I never said she was _good_ at expressing her feelings."

R: "Even though it is rather obvious you _care_ for him."

K: "And that _Shinji_ cares for her as well."

S: "...By the _look_ of it. I think I might've just arrived."

**(192)**

E: "Rather amazing how you _made_ it there."

H: "It pretty much took _everyone_ , didn't it?"

A: "...Now it's up to whether I... accept him."

_Rendezvous_ (193)

R: "You _know_ you love him, at least."

K: "But as she said. It's all up to whether she accepts him, or not."

A: "...Will I?"

**(194)**

E: "Now would be the _only_ time you can."

Z: "Even if you _did_. You still have to go back, right?"

S: "...We could at least make amends."

**(195)**

H: "Which is what you are offering."

K: "And from the _look_ of things, she _may_ accept this."

A: "I _want_ to. But... I'm still nervous."

R: "Do... you think that may stop you?"

A: "...Maybe."

**(196)**

Asuka gave a small smile. "Want to spirit me away somewhere, Shinji?"

S: "Would you mind such thing?"

A: "Probably not. But... I wonder if _she_ would mind that."

Z: "You want to take his hand _so much_."

**(197)**

A: "...Ah Christ."

E: "She thinks _relying_ on Shinji is _weakness_?"

S: "...That doesn't bode too well for this working out, does it?"

A: "If I'm _still_ thinking like that... then no."

**(198)**

R: "Does... she herself no longer believe she _is_ Asuka?"

H: "Well, same as Shinji is no longer the Shinji he was, so is Asuka."

K: "Seems like this influence from her peers _negatively_ affected her."

Asuka sighed. "It... it was a good shot, Shinji."

S: "...Guess this is just how it goes, eh?"

**(199)**

A: "...Especially with how I am. Damn it."

R: "As Ritsuko said, though. Once you _realise_ something, it's never too late."

E: "There is also that prophecy you experienced, Shinji."

S: "...You reckon it can still happen?"

K: "We _know_ it'll happen. Sometime."

Z: "Like _actually_ know or just _thinking_ it'll happen?"

R: "We _could_ find out, but it would be easier just to keep reading and see what happens."

**(200)**

A: "...Not that it'll help _you_."

S: "I... don't think I'll take this well."

**(201)**

R: "...That is rather evident."

E: "I imagine you would feel like you _failed_."

S: "Even though I've been told it's never really too late."

H: "I imagine you _now_ would be finding it hard to believe that."

**(202)**

S: "...At the moment, yeah. I would be."

A: "I wonder _when_ I'll... accept him."

K: "You will. I'm sure of it."

_Berliner_ (204)

H: "Where's... _that_?"

A: "Probably back in Berlin." A small smile. "Despite what _she_ said, it's quite an alright city. Streets are clean. People are respectful. I wouldn't mind getting married over there."

K: "Even for it being the capital."

S: "You'd think the capital _was_ the nicest place in any country."

A: "There _are_ nicer places in Germany, mind you. Mama had a cabin near Kassel. My earliest memories of her are in that cabin."

E: "Is that was we saw in... Rogue-00?"

A: "Yeah. Made sense that's where I reunited with her, eh?"

**(205)**

H: "...I do not think _she_ is too happy to be back in Berlin."

R: "She never wanted to leave in the first place."

A: "You know it's bad when my room looks like _Misato's_."

E: "My mama said that's a sign of depression."

A: "For _me_ , that would be the case." Melancholic. "I wonder what I'd even _do_ in Germany. Not like my Unit's there anymore."

S: "...I wonder if _that's_ adding to your... depression."

A: "It might. Mama was in there, after all. And I wouldn't even _remember_ that."

K: "...You might not have ever figured that out, then."

She sighed. "...I really am lonely."

**(206)**

E: "...That's another sign."

A: "I hope _now_ I realise, at least."

S: "...Even framing that goodbye note."

Z: "...It does look like you _realise_ , at least."

**(207)**

A: "Living with them would probably make my depression _worse_."

H: "There's something _on_ that... thing. Or they wouldn't have focused on it."

E: "Compact Disc. Maybe it has some sort of correspondence with your step-mother. Since you two seem to have a more... amicable relation in this."

A: "Who stores _email_ on a _CD_?"

S: "Your step-mother, perhaps."

**(208)**

R: "...I think I see what will happen."

A: "...Eh?"

R: "These are correspondences you sent. A log of everything that happened in Tokyo-3."

Asuka went wide eyed. "Even the stuff I... forgot."

K: "This would be when you recognise your love for him, I imagine."

E: "In your own words."

S: "...If _anyone_ can help you realise."

_Remembrance_ (209)

A: "...I think I _am_ realising that."

Z: "Rather amazing, considering how caustic you are in your email."

R: "Thing is, it will only get _better_ from here."

K: "It will transition from ambivalent to amicable to affectionate."

S: "...And you will see all this."

**(210)**

H: "...Rather poetic words."

A: "Kinda... odd. Coming from me."

E: "Goes to show your love for him."

Asuka gave her other a glance. "...Yeah. Goes to show how much I love you, eh Shinji?"

He offered a small smile in reply.

**(211)**

K: "Indeed they are. What you lost, now found again."

S: "...That's pretty much what _we_ did."

Asuka gave a nod. "Shame I didn't find that disc for _three months_."

H: "And what _else_ could you promise him? As pilots, you would not have had much else."

Z: "Even having a _future_ wasn't guaranteed, and yet we still promised that."

S: "We... knew that. And yet we still promised one another. If we had a future, we'd spend it together."

E: "...You're making good on that promise."

A: "Well... we _still_ don't know if we have a future. As long as we're pilots."

R: "...We make do. As we do."

**(212)**

A: "...But... I do sometimes dream of a future like the one the _other_ Shinji dreamed of. Just... as me."

E: "As you are _there_."

A: "Yeah. If we somehow get out of piloting with our lives. Just... Shinji and I, and you lot as well. Might move back to Germany, depends what Shinji wants."

S: "You know I'll go wherever you want to go."

A: "Odds are... we aren't getting there in a hurry. If we get there at all. But... one can dream."

**(213)**

K: "Born to meet one another. Were you?"

Asuka huffed. "With how the universe likes to push us together, it might as well be like that."

Z: "...Makes your relationship all the more special, eh?"

A: "Could say the same of _you two_."

S: "...Even though we went through a lot. I'd do it all over again to be with you."

A soft smile. "You sap. I'm gonna end up crying before the end of this, at this rate."

E: "...At least _this_ time around. It's not because of anything... bad."

_Photograph_ (214)

Asuka could keep her composure for now. "She... realises. Thank God."

K: "Indeed she does."

H: "But you're a world away, aren't you?"

A: "That wouldn't stop me. If I _really_ loved him, I'd find him _anywhere_."

**(215)**

R: "...There it is."

S: "It was always there."

A: "Of course it was. I... just kept denying it."

K: "And just because you cannot remember, does not mean it _didn't_ happen. It did."

R: "And the feelings are still there. As... they are here."

Z: "As... Ritsuko said. If you realise, it's not too late."

**(216)**

She took a deep breath. "...Hikari was right. I do regret this."

K: "It is not too late."

E: "It has been said a lot, but it deserves repeating."

A: "I... think that's the point of all this. It's not too late for _us_. Even with how I... pushed you away from me."

S: "...If I really loved you, I wouldn't stop loving you. No matter what."

**(217)**

A: "...Same here. And... I think that's what I'm doing."

Z: "You're going back to Tokyo-3?"

A: "Hell yeah I am! I don't care if I'm too young, I'm gonna get back there and tell Shinji _everything_ I feel!"

_I Need You_ (218)

They all froze, as soon as they saw the scene. "You... already found me?"

S: "...I do love you, don't I?"

A: "That's... really convenient." A wavering smile. "I-isn't it?"

R: "I doubt you would mind, at this point."

A: "No... I don't."

**(219)**

K: "Rather relaxed for meeting her again, Shinji."

S: "W-well. It's not like I want to make a bad impression on her, or anything."

E: "I think just about _any_ interaction at this point would be good for her."

H: "This especially. It's _exactly_ what you need."

A: "...I'm just as bashful as _you_ would be, Shinji."

**(220)**

Asuka sighed. "If you fuck this up _now_ , I swear to God."

Z: "Just as you _always_ was. It... would be hard trying to break away from that."

A: "...It was hard enough for _me_ to break away from that."

R: "I wonder what Shinji offered you. To have you react like that."

S: "...Myself."

**(221)**

A quiet gasp. "You... y-you-"

S: "Idiot?" A warm smile, going for her hand. "Maybe. But... maybe that's enough."

R: "A gesture of his love. Where his words may fail."

K: "Where words may fall on deaf ears."

**(222)**

E: "And even though people discouraged you, you _still_ went for her."

H: "Because he loves her. Like... me with Zero Two."

Z: "I _know_ you'd go to hell and back for me, darling. Same with Shinji."

A: "H-he practically _has_. This... is just proof of that."

The warmth of his hand remained.

**(223)**

R: "It is nothing but a genuine show of affection."

K: "And... I believe you are recalling something."

**(225)**

"I... promise you." Asuka began translating her words. As they all watched on.

**(226)**

"U-until my death. I will not touch a man, except you."

"The promise you made to him."

"...Until my death. I will not _speak_ with a man, except y-you."

"One you only just remember now."

"All of me.... From head to toe, even every _hair_ on my head is _yours_."

She took a breath. "I... cannot remember the days I spent with you. But... I don't care. I... do not know anything about _love._.."

**(227)**

"...But if love means not breaking that promise until my dying breath..."

She looked towards Shinji. Tears in her eyes. "Then... I promise to love you always. And no one _but_ you. As long as I live.

"On m-my honour as Asuka Langley Soryu."

They spend a small moment staring into one another's eyes.

"I-it's a shame my other didn't understand th-"

Asuka leapt out of her seat, and practically tackled Shinji to the floor, lips locked.

"There's still _some_ to-"

"Leave them be, Zero Two." Rei looked on, she too warmly smiling at their love. "They... deserve this. After everything that happened."

"Indeed." Kaworu warmly noted.

**(228)**

E: "They thought the same thing."

R: "Indeed they have." She mused. "Asuka, do you want us to wait?"

A: "I-I don't really care anymore, Rei." She choked. "That's... that's all I need."

R: "I understand, Asuka."

**(229)**

H: "At least _someone_ liked that food."

R: "I imagine it was one of those store buns. They are not _that_ great."

K: "Homemade ones are _much_ better."

**(230)**

Z: "...Looks like _they_ don't care."

R: "Why would they? The only thing they need right now is... one another."

E: "As here?"

Rei nodded. "As here. Snow come down, they do not care."

**(232)**

Asuka wiped away tears. "D-do you reckon we should see what we missed, Shinji?"

"...Yeah. Let's see what else there is."

So they got up, and sat back down at the table. Hands held.

"You seem rather nonchalant."

Asuka chuckled. "We... usually are. I'm... probably gonna spend some quality time with Shinji after all this."

_Christmas_ (234)

A: "I'm... sure I enjoyed myself."

Z: "Oh you _did_." A smug smirk. "Pretty much as you _just_ did."

A: "Did I fall into Shinji's arms?"

K: "Yes. Amazing how reality can be like these works."

**(235)**

S: "That's... our child. Isn't it?"

A: "Yeah... after how ever many years."

E: "Years you two have spent _together_."

Her walls threatened to crumble again. "M-man. How the hell have things ended up so _well_?"

H: "Sounds like you two are kinda like you were."

**(236)**

Rei smiled. "Everything is going to be just fine."

A: "...Y-yeah. I... can't really believe it. That's... pretty much what I want."

S: "What... we _both_ want."

**(237)**

K: "...Indeed. This happened _somewhere_. As... with all our stories."

A: "At... at least they _eventually_ cut us a break."

_To All Children_ (242)

E: "This... would be the last part. I imagine."

A: "...Let's get this done."

**(243)**

H: "...Colour."

S: "Out of... _all_ the things they could've coloured."

A: "But... are we _back_ here? The... _other_ us."

R: "I would believe so."

**(244)**

K: "...It as gone as the Laserdiscs, so far."

A: "We... would _know_ now, at least. So..."

R: "Perhaps that is why you reacted like this."

**(245)**

E: "It _does_ look like you might've bonded."

S: "We would've. After... all that happened."

A: "At least we have _that_. And... even if we _didn't_ have that great a relation. It's a start."

Z: "Your _others_ ended up fine as well. Didn't they?"

A: "...I wonder if _we_ knew that."

**(246)**

R: "Either way. You have broken free from your past."

A: "...Took me a bit, didn't it?"

K: "...Even your _eyes_ are that of a Nephilim."

E: "As it was with _Asuka's_ eye, as well."

**(247)**

A: "Aww, they were doing _well_ with the no nudity."

R: "Do you expect them to have _clothes_ coming out of Instrumentality?"

S: "I mean, _we_ did. Would've been even _more_ awkward if we didn't"

E: "Who would _they_ be, anyway?"

K: "Others could come out of Instrumentality if they wanted to. That is what was stipulated at the end of the Laserdiscs."

Z: "So it's irrelevant?"

K: "Considering the remaining pages are rather spartan, I doubt this will be explained either way."

**(248)**

H: "...That's pretty much the closest you two have been since... _ever_. By the sounds of it."

S: "...It's something, at least."

**STOP 250**

"...It's a start." Asuka softly spoke. "Hey... Shinji?"

"...Yeah?"

"You... wanna go watch the stars?"

A soft smile. "I'd... like that."

They quietly left.

"...They have something special, those two."

"You sense it." Rei spoke. "They... Their relationship is one of the rarest things in this world. One as genuine, and as loving as their own. You do not see it too often, in this world."

"But... it's those very relationships that can _change_ the world."

"...Even if no one knows it. Even if _they_ do not know it. It was _theirs_ that changed the outcome of this world."

"You could say, their relationship is the most sacred thing in this world." Kaworu revered. "Something that should be protected."

"...My thoughts exactly. Through them, _we_ got together. _You_ lived, Kaworu. Through _us_ , Hikari, Kensuke and even _Ritusko_ got with their partners. I _died_ , and it was you and them that helped me _restore_ myself. It was by our hands that this _world_ was saved."

"And... how we could come here."

"Yes. You two, to live a meaningful life after a meaningful life."

"...I would've never been _created_ , if not for this world surviving as it did."

"Yes. And that is why I so vehemently _protect_ their relationship. Those two are _proof_ that love exists in this world. That _we_ could love. If two seemingly polar opposites could come together in such a sympathy of light and magic and whatever we can sense. It means this world has _meaning, we_ have meaning. And... as long as there is love in this world, this... this world is worth living in."

There was quiet. The remaining crowd taking in Rei's passion.

"...Go on, you two. Your... your love is just as important."

"... _Thank you_ , Rei." Zero Two had a longing look towards her other. "Let's go, darling."

Her other softly smiled. And they left.

"Would... you like to stay for the night, Eli-"

It didn't take long for her to be wrapped in a hug.

Rei gently ran her hand over her sister. "That would be love you feel right now. Love for your pilot, and sister."

"...It's... odd. But..."

"Shh..." Holding her closer. "You do not need to understand it, Eliza."

"...okay..."

"Would you like to stay for the night, Eliza?"

"My... mothers would want me to return. But... I think I could stay like this for a little while longer."

* * *

## 3\. Love

Sayaka giggled, into the phone. "How's Homura been?"

_"Same old. She's settled back into school, at least. Mama was kinda worried the next few years were gonna be stressful on her, what with the final years and maybe going for university."_

"Ohh, what does she want to do?"

_"We dunno."_ She gave a small chuckle down the line. _"She_ thought _of becoming a nurse, so as to sort of thank the people who_ help _her, but then she realised she couldn't handle the..._ fluids _."_

"I know _I_ can't _._ " Her smile faded into melancholy. "Speaking of... how's Mami doing?"

_"...Mami."_ A sigh. _"She's... struggling. I think she has survivor's guilt, or something. We try visiting her whenever we can but... she's really lonely. And... we can't really_ do _much, not while she's in the hospital."_

"...With _what_ happened, that's... pretty understandable." A deep breath. "Your mother helped _Homura_. Do you think she could do the same for _Mami_?"

_"...It'd be a pretty packed house."_ Wry. _"We don't have an issue with money, Mama's got plenty of that now. I... I think she will. Mami doesn't have anyone else, I think."_

The door opened and shut, and Kyoko instantly claimed her quarry.

"...As long as you're there for her, Madoka. I know you care for her, as you do Homura."

_"I... do. T-thanks, Sayaka. It... it was nice talking with you and Kyoko again."_

A small smile. "Say hi to them both for us, okay?"

_"I will, don't you worry."_

The phone clicked off.

Sayaka gave a sigh.

"Was that... Madoka?"

"Yeah, Ken." A sad smile. "They're... doing alright. As well as they _can_ be, I suppose."

Turning to him. "So how was NERV tearing you away from us?"

He chuckled. "Oh, just tearing down my optimistic attitude and me fully learning what I just gotten myself into."

"I thought you learned that while we were watching our show with the _others_." Kyoko pointed out, chewing on an apple.

"Maybe actually _getting_ a job with NERV helped drill it into my skull." He sighed. "But... I should've known that already. NERV's paramilitary, after all. They have to fight, just as other armed forces do."

"It's probably the same thing you would've learned in the JMSDF."

"It _would_ be, Sayaka." A huff, looking between the two. "Oh well. At least I have my reasons for doing this."

They _both_ picked up on this, and paused for thought.

"Say, Ken." Kyoko began. "You... seem like you had a long day. How about you go get cleaned up, and we can put on a Laserdisc and... just chill."

He smiled. "That sounds nice. I won't be too long, you two."

"You got a movie you want to watch?"

"Any you two pick would be fine, Sayaka."

And so he went to get cleaned up.

"So what are the odds we actually _watch_ the movie?"

"Probably nil." Kyoko gave a cheeky smile. "Who knows. Maybe he just wants to snuggle, and relax."

"He's a _man_."

"...Okay, I'll give you that."

~~~

The pink haired girl put the phone back on the hook. A small smile on her. "I'm gonna head up to my room, pa."

"Not staying up for your ma?"

Shaking her head. "It _is_ a school day. Plus, doesn't she work to _10_ , now?"

"Fair enough." A small smile. "I think Homura's already gone up there. Don't stay up _too_ long, you two."

She paused on the stairs, blushing. "T-thanks."

A huff. "Night sweetie."

"Gnight, pa."

So she made it to her room. _Their_ room, actually. Homura was probably cleaning herself up, so she simply looked out her window, into the night sky.

She felt a presence. "Those lights are still there, are they?"

"They're... more faded than a few weeks ago. I... wonder what caused them."

"You saw the news, right? They said it was the result of a _NERV_ operation."

Madoka huffed. "My mama probably didn't like that. If it even _was_ a NERV operation, and not some coverup, like she often suggests."

"If they wanted to cover it up, they would say they were weather balloons."

A giggle. "That's true."

They looked back to the sky.

"How were the others?"

"They're going well, by the sounds of it. Their man _somehow_ got a job at NERV."

Homura huffed. "Amazing. Though speaking of that... did you ask how Zero Two was going?"

Her face fell sullen. "N-no. Sorry Homura."

"It's alright. Don't worry yourself over it."

"...I probably _should've_ asked, though. We... were the first to let her in, after all."

"I imagine she's going fine, Madoka." A small smile. "She's capable."

"She is... isn't she."

Once again to the sky.

Her head rested on Homura's shoulder, hand drifting to hers.

"...I have a lot to thank you for. Don't I?" Homura softly spoke. "I... don't think I'd be here if it wasn't for you."

"...You know you don't have to give me anything in return. Just... you being here with me is enough."

"I don't have much to my name, either way. But... I do have _something_ , I give."

"...Eh?"

"Love." A small smile, gently holding her other closer. "...Thank you."

Madoka was rather taken aback by this sudden show of affection by the normally bashful girl.

Maybe it was that, that resulted in her crying in her arms.

"Shh... you're alright. You're alright."

~~~

Asuka rested on the shoulder of Shinji, leaning against a fence and simply looking up.

"Y'know, I would've thought all these souls would clear up by now."

"They certainly make the sky _look_ nicer." He noted. "Better than all the light pollution we usually have."

"Yeah, it kinda _sucks_ you can't see the stars, unless the power's out."

"The power's _never_ out."

"Exactly! Even in _Berlin_ , there wasn't _this_ much light pollution. And the skies _really_ got beautiful when you were somewhere nice and dark."

"Like in... what was that place called? In Germany?"

"Kassel?" A smile, recalling. "Yeah. Relatively small city, don't even think it had a hundred thousand, at least with what I recall. Had a pretty decent park. Surrounded by forest, which we had a cabin in."

"Sounds pretty cozy."

"It was. I... liked my time there." She chuckled. "Of course, I'm viewing this through some _thick_ rose tinted glasses. Who knows, maybe it turned into a shitheap during the past decade and whatever."

"Well, I _hope_ it hasn't. It sounds... nice."

Some quiet.

"Maybe, if we live long enough, I can take you to Germany and show you."

"You... want to get married there. Maybe a honeymoon there?"

She huffed. "You sap. Though... I wouldn't mind that. Or... that future we had in the doujin." Nuzzling into him. "How's that sound, Shinji? If... we ever get out of this piloting business."

"...I'd love that, Asuka."

"I... I know you would, Shinji." Looking into his eyes. "Maybe with everyone else, eh?"

"It'd be kinda lonely with just _us_ , wouldn't it?"

A giggle. "True. I wouldn't want to _abandon_ them, either. They're our friends, after all."

"Should we drag them _with_ us?"

"I know Rei and Kaworu would follow us to the ends of the earth if they could. And I _know_ they could." A chuckle. "I imagine Hikari would rather stay _here_ with her oaf, which fair enough. Ken would stay with his mahou shoujo as well."

"I'm guessing the Commander would _have_ to stay here and... well, _command_. Along with everyone else."

"So, on the off chance we get out of piloting. We move to a log house just outside Kassel, along with Rei and Kaworu in _their_ log house, and... live."

"...Sounds like a dream."

"It _is_ a dream, Shin-chan. At least _now_. But... maybe it can happen."

"...There's always the chance. Considering what _else_ has happened."

A huff. "Yeah." A glance downward. "Might even... try for a child."

"...It'd be a better time than _now_ , wouldn't it?"

"I wouldn't _mind_ , but... I wouldn't want one when there's a massive risk where the mother could... die."

"That's... fair. That's probably why Misato is so insistent we _don't_."

"I wouldn't be surprised."

Quiet.

"...I'm really lucky to have found you, Shinji. I... don't like what I become when I'm not with you."

"I could say the same for... me."

Asuka huffed. "Seems the universe knows this as well. With how much they seem to push us together in all these works."

"Not a bad thing, is it?"

A smile, looking into his eyes. "Not at all."

It was in the still darkness, their lips met. Gentle. Loving.

A small pause. "Let's... stay out here a bit longer, Shinji."

"Would I deny that?"

"Heh. Pervert."

The quiet returned.

* * *

## 4\. In which we have an obvious sequel hook

Far and away from the base Earth, an entity was working.

_ If this does not work, we are surely doomed to the abyss. _

_ It is the only thing we can do. _

_ The insight we had during the breach of this other has proven... useful. _

_ Indeed. They are more malleable than we once thought. _

_ The other may prove useful, as well. If they were once capable of piloting. _

_ Unstable. They must be restrained by the zero. _

_ That will be our plan. Facing the creations of God and Man, there was one distinct from the others. _

_ Scarlet. That power will be our plan. _

_ Subtlety will be our key. This being will not act without our blessing. _

_ Indeed. We shall begin. _

The soul was surrounded by energy.

Slowly, a being grew. In the image of someone from their own world.

One eye silver, one eye gold.

What was blonde hair became brunette. Influences of the other, and nothing more.

_ What is your designation? _

Sove r e i gn.

_ You are ready. _

An energy spike, and a rift in space opened.

_Go_.

And just like that, the space around became quiet.

_ It is in the hands of them. We will rest, until they are ready. _

_ They will succeed. We have made sure of it. _

And so it went silent.

~~~

The announcement system activated. _"SPENCER. MAKINAMI. PLEASE REPORT TO. COMMANDER. PINES. IMMEDIATELY."_

"The best computers in the west and they _still_ sound like an old video game." He rued, as he left his work. "Claire? Would you mind going through the stuff on the terminal, see what I missed?"

"Of course I wouldn't mind, Spen."

"Thatta girl." A warm smile, and he was gone.

She wasn't exactly _foreign_ to intel like this, so it didn't take her too long to get out a notepad and writing down whatever she _thought_ was key.

Shame there wasn't much on this small memory card. Go figure, a storage medium mainly used for digital photography had digital photographs on it. Was probably barely worth the effort of patching it in.

Okay, there _were_ a few documents of note. The low resolution made it difficult to interpret, but they could have _something_.

It was while writing down these somewhat noteworthy things that Spencer returned, puffed, holding a Firewire drive. "Guess what. Tokyo-3 just sent us all those files we got during that raid."

"I thought _they_ were working on it."

"Apparently not." Flat. "Oh well."

Back on his terminal, he plugged in the drive and began browsing.

Immediately noticing a text file.

Interpreting the Romaji. "...Gold and Silver. Scarlet. Shepherd. Pontifex."

"...What does it mean?"

"Who knows." Shrugging. "It's as basic a text file as you can get. But... we know how SEELE's like."

"I imagine the rest of the files will have more information."

"...Indeed they will."

And so their watch began.

~~~

"...Asuka? Hey, Asuka?"

"mMm whasit Shinji?" She stirred, having fallen asleep on his shoulder. "W-we're still he-"

"Look up."

Slowly, she did.

Before going wide eyed. "Is... is that a comet?"

A golden glow racing through the sky. Seemingly terminating somewhere close by.

"I wonder if it landed."

"We _do_ have school tomorrow, Asuka."

She sulked.

"...Alright. Let's go see it."

With a large grin, they left the rooftop.

Soon enough they were joined by Kaworu, Rei, and Eliza. Much to Asuka's confusion. "You see the comet as well?"

"There was a comet?"

"Eliza... she noticed _something_."

"...Eliza?"

"This way." She continued on.

With all following behind her. "Do you think that comet was related, Kaworu?"

"If we consider how Hiro and Zero Two seemingly arrived, via a comet."

"They _did_?" Asuka queried.

"Around midnight of Christmas Day, two comets were sighted with no precedent. One orange, one blue. The blue one impacted near where _Hiro_ was found, and the orange one impacted somewhere in Tokyo-2. Where _Zero Two_ came from."

They looked back up at the streak. "Who would _gold_ represent?"

"Gold is the colour of a... Hey Kaworu? Have we given a name to gold eyed Nephilim?"

"I don't think so."

"A second stage Nephilim, provisional name. Like _us_."

"... _Who_ would it represent?" Asuka continued to question. "Cause _you two_ are the only Nephilim with golden eyes we know of."

Kaworu was quiet. _'There... was another.'_

_'...Mari?'_

_'Yes. Though... I hope this is not her. That would prove I... couldn't even give her that.'_

"We are almost there."

Eliza tracked it like it were a distress beacon, into a quiet alley. Leaving the vanguard, she searched.

She paused. Craning her head.

And there was someone. Unkept brown in hair, covered in dirt.

"Did you find something, Eliza?"

"...Some _one_."

Immediately they gathered around her. "Jesus _fuck_." Asuka immediately went for her phone, calling for _immediate_ NERV help as Rei took off her coat to give this John Doe some warmth and decency.

As Rei tended to this unknown being, Kaworu found something else this being came with.

A rather sizeable book. Asuka, Shinji and Rei prominent on the cover. "They aren't the _only_ thing to have come through."

" _Another_ book? Fuck sake, can't catch a break in this universe."

Eliza kept staring at this other, not knowing what else she could do. They... felt familiar.  "Who... _are_ you?"

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be continued in Chronicles: Project G, covering Ultra Sonic 007's 'Mobile Fighter Evangelion'


End file.
